What should I do if I'm receiving SMS on phone giving in verification code of TikTok app despite I have deleted and no longer use the application in my Android device? I got an international call instantly after SMS popped in my notifications.Is this a cyber attack or phishing?
2 Answers
When you delete the app, then the account with your password still remains (in case you later decide to reinstall the app).
It appears someone was trying to log into your Tik Tok account, couldn't, and then used the "forgot password" function. This doesn't necessarily mean malicious intent. It is possible that someone somewhere in the world registered an account with a very similar account ID, mistyped it, and now erroneously tries to log into yours believing it to be theirs.
If the messages are not too distracting, you can just ignore them as spam. If they do annoy you, then you should delete not just the app but the account (which according to this guide requires to reinstall TikTok temporarily). 30 days later your account will be permanently deleted, together with any PII, including your phone number (hopefully - it's a Chinese company and they aren't bound to the same data protection legislations as US or European companies)
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When you talk about data protection laws in US. Are there laws other than the California's CCPA? Commented Mar 14, 2021 at 11:45
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1@raffaem I am not a lawyer. When you want to know more about privacy laws in the US, you might get better answers on law.stackexchange.com.– PhilippCommented Mar 14, 2021 at 12:24
The App poses risks of exposing you and your personal information online due to poor implementation of security and vulnerabilities in the App. Get rid of the App. There are too many articles explaining the exploits and risks of using TikTok dating back to 2019.
One example is the advertisement sub-domain had vulnerabilities of XSS.
Two USER data exposed just in HTTP REST calls which showed PII data such as email, phone numbers and secondary email accounts.
Three this data is not collected by the company of TikTok claimed by the CEO of the American operated company, but that does not mean other executives or members of the company are not sending the data off to who knows where.
Four the App TikTok will subsequently show more vulnerabilities as more people discover them as it is currently being brought more into the main light.
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You're not wrong, but you're not answering the scope of the question either.– Jeff Ferland ♦Commented Jul 14, 2020 at 5:22