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Famous video-sharing platform TikTok has accommodated numerous videos that promote fake nude celebrity photo leaks to endorse referral rewards for the Temu online megastore.
Temu is an online shopping website that adopted a referral program to increase its reach and allow customers to generate unique referral numbers and links. Users could share these referrals with their friends and family and across social media platforms in exchange for store credit, gifts, or points in their rewards system.
In addition, this rewards system also includes mini games that help users earn additional store credit, which they can redeem for cash rewards or use to purchase products. Customers get freebies, and Temu benefits from the free marketing generated by these referral links circulating on social media.
These new Temu referral codes could cause damages instead of rewards.
Scammers have used these Temu referral codes after spreading malicious photos and baiting TikTok users in their latest campaigns. Based on reports, scammers have fabricated videos that suggest releasing sensitive images and videos of celebrities.
These misleading clips bait viewers into downloading the Temu app and inputting the scammer’s referral number to access the supposed leaked content.
Accompanying these videos are captions like “I thought she was innocent” or “[celebrity_name] got leaked,” coupled with suggestive images or creating curiosity to download Temu and enter the listed referral number. These scams have targeted musicians, actors, and celebrities, including Olivia Rodrigo, Jenna Ortega, SSSniperWolf, Brooke Monk, Hailie Deegan, and many more.
On the other hand, this surge of Temu referral scams on TikTok has encouraged some vigilant users to check their legitimacy. Some concerned users have created videos that shed light on the dubious nature of these supposed celebrity leaks.
These fake leaks for scams and malicious activities, such as distributing malware, are not new to these platforms. However, scammers are constantly using new strategies to execute their attacks that would allow them to steal assets from unknowing users.
Fortunately, these miscreants have yet to upgrade their campaigns into something more hostile that could compromise TikTok users. However, the tactics they use will likely evolve to target more users.
Users should be careful in accessing attached to such TikTok videos to avoid falling prey to scammers. They should also not install suspicious software from these platforms since its endorsers do not undergo verification checks for their software products.
