A fraudster who scammed women he met Tinder of £80,000 by stealing their personal details while dating them.
Peter Gray secretly took photos of driving licenses and bank cards during dates with four women before using them to apply for huge loans.
The 35-year-old portrayed himself as a loving, caring partner who showered his victims with gifts and even got one of them pregnant.
However, the West Yorkshire man had a dark side beneath the surface and set off alarm bells for one of the women when he sent flowers to her home despite not being told where she lived.
Gray, from West Yorkshire, would later leave a trail of destroyed lives in his wake, with one victim having her mortgage canceled two days before she moved into her new home as a result of his actions.
In February this year, the scammer was jailed for 56 months and given a restraining order, preventing him from contacting all four women.
The women involved have warned people to be aware of similar downsides, with one saying it had 'totally ruined my life'. Tinder says it has “implemented several ways to alert users to potential scams.”
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Peter Gray (pictured) conned four women out of £80,000 after meeting them on dating app Tinder
The scammer took photos of his victim's bank cards and driving licenses before applying for a bank loan using their details. Pictured: Gray's Tinder profile
When Gray first met his victims, he took on the persona of a friendly man, with one named Jessica – not her real name – recalling how he was “a good listener and whatever I needed at that moment had'.
When she met the fraudster on Tinder in 2018 after coming out of a six-year relationship, she told BBC Radio 5 Live's Clare McDonnell how she was attacked by him on just their third date.
“I left my bag on his dining room table and he went into my bag and took pictures of my driver's license and both of my bank cards,” she said.
Using her details, he took out loans worth £9,000 in her name, with Jessica going to the police after discovering the fraud, despite the scammer's attempts to convince her to let him over time refund.
She says his actions have “totally ruined my life” and have left her unable to trust strangers.
Another of his victims, Hannah, told the BBC how, despite coming across as 'calming and reassuring', she sensed something wasn't quite right with Gray.
Just a week after ending her relationship with the fraudster, she received a letter in the post saying a £20,000 loan application had been accepted.
He would convince her to take him back months later and shower her with gifts, before ending things again due to the “alarm bells and red flags” that were “waving high.”
Hannah would later find out she was pregnant, but her sister dug into Gray's history and found one of his exes who warned them about him, with the information tearing her world apart.
Hannah (left) said her world fell apart after her sister (right) found out about Peter Gray's past and told her about him
Gray (pictured here in his mug shot) was jailed for 56 months and given a restraining order banning him from contacting the women
She says she was determined not to have her child raised “anywhere near such a despicable human being”, adding that her world “had fallen apart before my eyes in that half-hour conversation”.
In 2020, Gray matched with Elizabeth – not her real name – on the app before pulling off the exact same trick.
The warning signs started to appear when he, the scammer, sent flowers to her house despite not being told where she lived.
She told the BBC: “Red flags were popping up but I just kept thinking: don't be silly, you should go for a man who treats you nicely.”
It was only when Elizabeth had her mortgage canceled two days before moving into her new home that she realized Gray had obtained a £10,000 loan using her driving licence.
She says the destruction he has caused in her life has made her distrust people and constantly wonder, “Is this person who they say they are or is she not?”
Gray was brought to justice after two of the women he defrauded relied on the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, also known as Clare's Law, which asks police to conduct background checks on their partners.
A Tinder spokesperson told MailOnline : 'The unfortunate reality is that scammers can tug at people's hearts and prey on those looking for love or connection – not just on dating apps, but on all online platforms.
“Tinder helps prevent and alert users to potential scams or fraud by using AI tools to detect words and phrases and intervene proactively.
“We've implemented several ways to alert users to potential scams or fraud, from in-app features to pop-up messages and education.
'We encourage our users to look for the 'blue check mark', which indicates that the user's age and likeness have been verified through our photo and ID verification programs, which require users to submit an official document (passport or driver's license).
“All users can request that their match be photo verified before messaging. We also work with NGOs and local authorities to raise awareness about online fraud.