Fraudsters target teens with fake TikTok job offers, study warns

F raudsters are increasingly impersonating TikTok employees to scam teenagers with fake job offers, according to new research from Virgin Media O2. The study found a sharp rise in fraudulent text messages promising up to £800 a day for simply liking videos on the platform.

A typical scam message reads:

  Hello, I am from TikTok Human Resources Department. We sincerely invite you to use your free time to watch TikTok videos and help to click like the videos. You can get paid by 300-800 pounds a day. We are waiting for you and look forward to working with you. Please contact us as soon as possible to get job details.

Murray Mackenzie, Virgin Media O2’s director of fraud prevention, highlighted the appeal of these scams: “It’s very much driven by that dual feature of scammers knowing that [teenagers are] interested in TikTok at the moment and the opportunity to have some income as well.”

The study found that nearly a quarter (23%) of teenagers aged 13 to 16 were unaware that criminals could impersonate their favourite brands. Even among those who believed they could spot a scam, half failed to identify a fraudulent text when tested. While 77% of respondents claimed they could spot a fake text message, half failed to do so when presented with a fraudulent message, highlighting the effectiveness of such scams in deceiving young people.

Beyond fake job offers, other common scams include messages claiming the recipient has won gambling money or that a package has been damaged during delivery. “[Teenagers are] not able to gamble, they’re not able to bet and therefore the chance of winning a prize and having cash at hand is something they are quite likely to interact with,” Mackenzie said.

He also noted that young people frequently order online, making them more likely to fall for fake delivery alerts: “Teenagers are consistently placing orders [and] they expect issues with parcels and updates on the parcels. You lose track of what you’ve ordered and not ordered and therefore anything saying ‘missing parcel’, ‘delayed parcel’ [or] ‘update on parcel’ is likely to induce someone to click the link and to participate.”

The findings come ahead of Safer Internet Day on 11 February. Will Gardner, director of the UK Safer Internet Centre, stressed the need for more support, stating that children want more help in trying to navigate scams.

TikTok declined to comment on the report.

GOING FURTHER

• Swerve the Scammers with our Top Fraud Fighting Tips | VIRGIN MEDIA O2

• O2’s AI granny Daisy unveils what she’s learnt from her time on the phone to scammers – and what you can do to ruin their day | VIRGIN MEDIA O2

• Safer Internet Day | UK SAFER INTERNET CENTRE

Sources:

▪ This piece was first published in Europeans TODAY on 5 February 2025.

▪ Cover: Dreamstime/Sabphoto.