TikTok users hit with scam apps downloaded over 2.4 million times [updated]

TikTok users hit with scam apps downloaded over ii.4 million times [updated]

A screen grab of the 'Shock My Friends' display screens in the Apple App Store.

(Image credit: Ahmed Hany/Apple)

UPDATE: Apple has removed the iOS apps in question here from the App Store.

Lookout man out, TikTok kids! Some of the most popular accounts on your favorite short-class-video app may be promoting scammy Android and iOS apps designed to show you ads or rip you off.

This was discovered past a 12-year-old girl in the Czechia who promptly reported her findings to security firm Avast. Avast has the details in a weblog post today (Sept. 22).

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"Altogether, the apps have been downloaded more than two,400,000 times and have earned the people or persons backside the scam more than $500,000," Avast said in a press release.

All seven apps of the scammy apps were still available in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store at the time of this writing.

The apps merits to provide wallpapers, download music or be a phone-vibration game called "Stupor your friends." Just they volition load ads outside of the apps or accuse you lot betwixt $2 and $ten for ordinarily costless items such as wallpapers.

"The apps we discovered are scams and violate both Google's and Apple tree's app policies by either making misleading claims around app functionalities, or serving ads outside of the app and hiding the original app icon presently later the app is installed," said Avast threat annotator Jakub Vavra.

"It is specially concerning that the apps are being promoted on social media platforms popular among younger kids, who may non recognize some of the ruddy flags surrounding the apps and therefore may fall for them."

Avast found at least three TikTok accounts that were aggressively promoting the apps, with the usernames 7odestar, Dejavuuu.es3 and Marina90lazina. The start had more than 300,000 followers.

Information technology too found ane Instagram account with the username Shockmyfriends.app promoting the apps. All four were even so agile as of Wednesday morning in New York.

Avast said it had reported the apps and accounts to Apple, Google, Instagram and TikTok.

Scam apps exposed

At that place are three Android apps and four iOS ones listed past Avast. All were still bachelor for download when this story was written Tuesday morning (Sept. 22) Eastern time.

Update: By Tuesday evening, the iOS ones had been removed.

ThemeZone - Shawky App Free - Stupor My Friends
Tap Roulette ++Shock my Friend
Ulimate Music Downloader - Free Download Music
Stupor My Friends - Satuna
stupor my friend tap roulette v
666 Fourth dimension
ThemeZone - Live Wallpapers

How to protect yourself from TikTok scams

To protect yourself from scammy apps, be very wary of annihilation that's promoted via social-media platforms or via text or instant messages.

Also, read the reviews in the app stores before y'all download annihilation -- if something has exceptionally depression ratings, as a few of these do, that's often a tip-off.

If y'all're on an Android phone, you should besides install and run some of the all-time Android antivirus apps. That won't take hold of all scamware, but information technology will protect you from the near dangerous stuff. (Unfortunately, there are no antivirus apps for iOS.)

"We give thanks the young girl who reported the TikTok profile to us," said Avast's Jakub Vavra. "Her awareness and responsible action is the kind of commitment nosotros should all evidence to make the cyberworld a safer place."

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Paul Wagenseil is a senior editor at Tom's Guide focused on security and privacy. He has also been a dishwasher, fry cook, long-haul driver, code monkey and video editor. He'due south been rooting around in the information-security space for more xv years at FoxNews.com, SecurityNewsDaily, TechNewsDaily and Tom's Guide, has presented talks at the ShmooCon, DerbyCon and BSides Las Vegas hacker conferences, shown upwards in random Idiot box news spots and even chastened a panel give-and-take at the CEDIA dwelling house-technology conference. You lot tin follow his rants on Twitter at @snd_wagenseil.