Class Action Investigation: TikTok Scams

Did you know that scammers are rampant on TikTok?!

Despite extensive media coverage and warnings issued by the FTC, TikTok has done little to protect its users.

The TikTok Shop allows users to purchase items directly from sellers. Unfortunately, many TikTok shops sell counterfeit or defective products. Others accept payment without ever delivering any product at all. Some people have even had their identities stolen by scammers using the payment info that they provided for a fraudulent sale.

We are searching for plaintiffs for a potential class action against TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, who (1) were the victim of a TikTok scam; and (2) suffered a financial injury as a result, including being tricked into giving money to the scammer, purchasing a defective or counterfeit product, or experiencing identity theft.

If you have been the victim of a TikTok scam, you may be entitled to compensation! (***Some common types of TikTok scams are listed below.)

Impersonation Scams

TikTok scammers often impersonate others to perpetuate their scams, either through fraudulent TikTok ads or by sending direct messages to TikTok users. Tactics used by such scammers include:

• Impersonating TikTok’s technical service to request sensitive account and payment information from their victims.
• Pretending to be a brand ambassador or influencer offering a collaboration to extract payment or sensitive information from their target.
• Impersonating a well-known celebrity to earn their victim’s trust.
• Pretending to be romantically interested in their victim, often leading the victim on for weeks or months before requesting money or other favors under the guise of an invented “emergency.”

Fake Giveaways and Assistance Scams

TikTok scammers will often advertise fake giveaways, prize contests, or government assistance programs in order to gain sensitive information from their victims or money in the form of supposed “application fees.”

Fake Business Promotion Scams

TikTok scammers are known to promote fake businesses in order to steal fraudulent payments from their unfortunate “clients.” Some of the more common forms of this scam include: fake opportunities to invest in cryptocurrency; fake services claiming to increase the victim’s follower count or engagement rate; or fake “life coaching” services.

Fake Fundraising Scams

TikTok scammers will post emotional videos with links to donate money for a fabricated cause. Extremely cute dogs suffering from life-threatening illnesses are common.

TikTok Trends Scams

In 2022, a TikTok trend called the “invisible challenge” involved a filter that made users’ bodies appear see through. People were using the filter and taking their clothes off on screen to appear invisible. Scammers lured users seeking to remove the invisible filter on people’s videos by offering an app that removed the filter. The app was actually a WASP information stealer, which searched infected devices for passwords, crypto wallets, credit cards, Discord accounts, and other sensitive files.