SCAM ALERT: AI TikTok videos spreading powerful info-stealing malware

Amy MacIver (in for CapeTalk’s Clarence Ford) speaks with Hendrik de Bruin, Head of Security Consulting at Check Point.

Listen below:

A wave of TikTok videos have been spreading online, posing as helpful ‘how-to’ tutorials to unlock premium software features.

However, these videos are actually tricking viewers into executing commands that install advanced info-stealing malware.

The video will claim it can help you get free versions of premium apps like Spotify or Adobe or other services if you just run the code they attach.

“These videos are very short and essentially give one command you can run to allegedly activate premium features.”

- Hendrik de Bruin, Head of Security Consulting at Check Point 

However, the code is actually downloading malware into your device’s memory, making the attack almost impossible to detect.

This malware can harvest everything from login details and credit card numbers to two-factor authentication codes.

Some of these videos have already amassed hundreds of thousands of views.

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The videos are AI-generated, which make them easy to mass-produce and post across platforms, and difficult to flag.

If you feel you may have fallen victim, De Bruin says you should change all your login credentials and closely monitor your bank account in case of theft.

Scroll up to the audio player for more.