A cafe worker in North Dakota revealed how she went into “survival mode” after a creepy neighbor created a fake account about her on the dating app Tinder.
Danell Phelps, a coffee shop manager in West Fargo, North Dakota, recounted her terrifying experience when ten strange men showed up at her door and the drive-up cafe where she works.
It was later revealed that her neighbor, Theodore Kralovic, 36, had used her name and pictures to create a fake Tinder profile.
“I was in survival mode, trying to get through day by day and figure out what was going on,” Phelps told WDAY.
“They messaged me on Facebook and said, 'Hey, we were talking about Tinder,'” Phelps said.
Danell Phelps, a coffee shop manager in West Fargo, North Dakota, revealed how she went into “survival mode” after a creepy neighbor created a fake account about her on the dating app Tinder
Phelps recounted her terrifying experience when ten strange men showed up at her door or the drive-up cafe where she works
It was later revealed that her neighbor, Theodore Kralovic, 36, had used her name and pictures to create a fake Tinder profile
According to court documents, Kralovic posed as Phelps and spoke to 138 different people on Tinder.
Phelps graduated from North Dakota State University last year and owns a drive-up cafe called Ladybug Latte in West Fargo.
However, she noticed something strange earlier this year when a man knocked on the back door of the cafe.
“He came to the back door and said, ‘Are you Danell?’ and I said, ‘Yes,’” Phelps recalled.
“He said, ‘It’s Michael.’ And I said, ‘Do I know you?’ And he said, ‘Yeah. We talked about Snapchat.”
“I said, ‘No, we didn’t,’ and he was mortified.”
She decided to file a police report after ten different men showed up at her door or tried to message her on social media.
“When the detective got all the data from Tinder, he talked to me and started counting, got to 47 and said, 'I'm not even halfway there,'” Phelps said.
Phelps graduated from North Dakota State University last year and owns a drive-up cafe called Ladybug Latte in West Fargo
Earlier this year, she noticed something strange when a man knocked on the back door of the cafe
Kralovic was accused of “using Phelps' information to create a fake, unauthorized Tinder account, talk to men, and arrange dates with those men.”
“He also gave the men Phelps’ home address, work address and vehicle description,” prosecutors said.
According to court documents, at least eight men came to her workplace or home hoping to talk to her or meet her in person.
Kralovic pleaded guilty to intentional endangerment and was sentenced to probation and community service.
The case marks the first time local prosecutors have charged someone with creating fake dating app accounts.
Phelps had to move out of her old home and install security cameras in her cafe.
“You can't tell me that something like that can't be dangerous.” Why does it have to get to the point where something bad happens that people actually take action? Phelps said.