Watch out for fake TikTok Shops trying to steal your money

TikTok Shop is a real, functioning e-commerce feature built into the TikTok app, allowing users to buy goods without ever leaving TikTok. As it’s grown in popularity, scammers have begun cloning its appearance.Storefronts that reproduce its look, its trust badges, and its category layout closely enough to pass a quick glance are showing up as entirely separate, unverified websites. The short version If a shopping site looks like TikTok Shop but you didn’t reach it from inside the actual TikTok app, treat it as an unknown third-party store, not an extension of TikTok. It might look like TikTok, but it’s the same risks as any sketchy online shop: paying for something that never arrives, or handing over card details to a site with no accountability behind it. Fake TikTok Shops Clone sites in this category tend to reproduce TikTok Shop’s homepage design closely enough that, at a glance, they could pass for the real thing. They have matching color schemes, matching layout, and language borrowed directly from the platform, such as “curated products,” “trusted sellers,” and “secure service.” Underneath, they typically show the same kind of reassurance badges the real platform uses: claims of platform-verified sellers, local delivery guarantees, and after-sales support windows. None of that trust signaling is backed by anything. It’s copied language and copied visual design sitting on top of a site with no verified relationship to TikTok at all. Scammers borrow the legitimacy that TikTok Shop has built up, then use it to move products—or simply take payment—through a storefront TikTok has no oversight of. Wholesale stores and fake loan offers A related version of this scam leans into bulk or wholesale pricing, offering goods across categories like fashion, home, and beauty, again wrapped in TikTok’s name and logo. Some of these sites go a step further and add a consumer credit or “loan service” option directly into the site navigation, sitting alongside ordinary shopping categories. A legitimate wholesale marketplace doesn’t typically need to offer consumer credit as a checkout feature. When it does, it’s worth treating as a separate red flag from the shopping itself. Loan applications typically ask for far more sensitive information than a purchase does, including identity documents, banking details, and other personal data. Handing that information to a site that’s already impersonating a major platform significantly increases the risk of fraud or identity theft. The checkout is the real risk Both scams point to the same underlying concern: it’s not really about whether the products are real. It’s about what happens when you enter payment information into a storefront with a fake identity and no accountability. The order may never arrive, leaving you out of pocket, and your payment details themselves could be stolen, reused, or resold. How to stay safe Only use TikTok Shop from inside the official TikTok app, not a link from an ad, DM, or search result. Always check a website’s address before entering any payment information. A convincing homepage doesn’t mean a legitimate business sits behind it. Be skeptical of any shopping site that also pushes a loan, credit line, or financing offer at checkout. Pay with a credit card rather than a bank transfer where possible. It gives you a dispute path if the order never shows up. Brand impersonation is one of the oldest tricks in e-commerce fraud. TikTok Shop’s badge system and trust language are simply the latest assets being borrowed. Stop threats before they can do any harm. Malwarebytes Browser Guard blocks phishing pages and malicious sites automatically. Free, one click to install. Add it to your browser → About the author Stefan Dasic Sr. Malware Research Engineer/Web Protection Technical Lead, ThreatLabs Passionate about antivirus solutions, Stefan has been involved in malware testing and AV product QA from an early age. As part of the Malwarebytes team, Stefan is dedicated to protecting customers and ensuring their security.