Security News > 2021 > November > TikTok phishing threatens to delete influencers’ accounts
Researchers have observed a new phishing campaign primarily targeting high-profile TikTok accounts belonging to influencers, brand consultants, production studios, and influencers' managers.
In some cases seen by Abnormal Security, the actors impersonate TikTok employees, threatening the recipient with imminent account deletion due to an alleged violation of the platform's terms.
TikTok 'Verified' badges give weight to the content posted by verified accounts and signal the platform's algorithms to ramp up the exposure rates of posts from these accounts.
In both cases, the attackers provide their targets with a way to verify their accounts by clicking an embedded link.
It is unclear what the phishing actors aim for in this campaign, but it could be either an attempt to take over the targets' accounts or to extort the account owners and force them to pay a ransom for giving them back control.
You should always secure your account with two-factor authentication or 2-step verification, as TikTok calls it, ideally with a hardware security key.