What is TikTok’s ‘Look who died in an accident scam’?

#CyberSecurity #SocialMedia #TikTok

The purpose of social media phishing such an attack is to steal personal data or gain control of your social media account
The information gleaned by the hackers can then be used to launch other scams and attacks
TikTok Phishing primarily targets high-profile TikTok accounts belonging to influencers, brand consultants, production studios, and influencers' managers

Written By:Amal Raj

Updated: January 31 2023 09:31:46 PM ET United States

A new scam is going around social media called “look who died in an accident” The viral phishing scam is all over Facebook Messenger and TikTok this month. If you receive the above text, it is advised not to click it.

TikTok Phishing primarily targets high-profile TikTok accounts belonging to influencers, brand consultants, production studios, and influencers’ managers. A recently discovered phishing scam tried to take over more than 125 high-profile user accounts on TikTok. Phishing emails are targeting large TikTok accounts with phoney copyright warnings or offers for account verification, according to researchers at abnormal security.

What is TikTok’s ‘Look who died in an accident scam’?

An email campaign sent in two rounds to target large-volume TikTok accounts of all kinds and across disparate locales:

“Among the typical talent agencies and brand-consultant firms we would expect to see, this actor sent messages to social media production studios, influencer management firms, and content producers of all types….From well-known digital media channels to individual actors, models, and magicians, the campaign reached out to content creators worldwide. Several emails were sent to the wrong company of the same name in the same country, and many of the email addresses used appear to have been lifted directly from social media.”

In this case, a typical Facebook phishing attack is delivered through a message or link that asks you to provide or confirm your personal information. Delivered via a Facebook post or through the Facebook Messenger platform, it is often difficult to separate a prospective friend’s legitimate message from a phishing attempt.

The information gathered via a Facebook phishing attempt gives attackers the information the need to gain access to your Facebook account. You could receive a message informing you that there is an issue with your Facebook account and that you need to log in to correct the issue.

Hackers operating on Twitter use the same phishing tactics and techniques they do for other social media platforms. A threat actor sends fake messages that claim to come from Twitter. These messages attempt to lure you into divulging sensitive information such as login credentials, personal information, and even credit card data. These phishing attacks can lead to other related attacks, this includes the “pay for followers” attack. In this method of phishing, you receive messages from hackers claiming to provide you with a specific number of “followers” for the low price of five dollars.