TikTok scam: Maharashtra Cyber Cell warns citizens of miscreants promoting malware called TikTok Pro

Last week, the government of India banned 58 popular Chinese mobile apps including TikTok over security concerns. However, miscreants are now taking advantage of the popularity of TikTok by promoting a malware under its name and are calling this new app TikTok Pro, claiming it to be an alternative to the banned TikTok app.

This fake malware app, appears just as the original TikTok app and requests permissions for camera, image gallery, mic and others among few, stealing sensitive information from your phone.

"Enjoy Tiktok Videos and also make Creative Videos again. Now Tiktok is only Available in (Tiktok pro) So Download from below. Link: http://tiny.cc/TiktokPro," Indian users have been receiving this particular message through WhatsApp and other messaging apps.

The Cyber Cell of Maharastra has now issued a warning regarding this new TikTok scam to make people aware of the malware that might put their private details in danger. In the last couple of years, TikTok had emerged as one of the most popular apps in Indian which had around 119 million active Indian users.

Points to always remember

• Users should never download any APK files that mimic services of TikTok or any other popular apps banned by the government as these can be sources of spreading malware.
• If you come across such kind of a message through any social media platform, delete it and strictly do not forward to others.
• http:// is not secure for the communication of private/sensitive information. Without HTTPS, any data passed on the site is insecure and could be intercepted by criminal third parties.
• This fake app isn't available on the Google Play app store and hence people are also not advised to download it from any external sources.

In case, you come across any cybercrime activity, you can report it to www.cybercrime.gov.in.