E-Paper
Punjab Police warn people against fake TikTok
The Punjab Police’s state cyber crime cell on Friday warned citizens against downloading any APK files that mimic the services of TikTok or any other popular app
The Punjab Police’s state cyber crime cell on Friday warned citizens against downloading any APK files that mimic the services of TikTok or any other popular app banned by the central government as these can be sources of malware spread.
Amid reports of a message circulating via instant messaging services, SMS or WhatsApp that the banned Chinese app, TikTok, is now available as TikTok Pro in India, a warning has been issued by the police.
A URL is provided with the message for users to download the app, a police spokesperson said.
Pointing out that TikTok and 58 other mobile apps have been banned by the Centre for engaging in activities prejudicial to India’s sovereignty and integrity, defence, security and public order, the spokesperson said the cyber crime cell has found that the malware called `TikTok Pro’ is a fake app with a logo closely replicating the real one.
However, the fake app is not available for download on Google PlayStore or Apple App Store, which clearly indicates that it is a fraud, he said.
Further, the URL (http://tiny.cciTiktokPro) provided as the download link does not follow the basic security protocol as the site starts with http and not https.
Also, clicking on the file immediately installs a 2.2MB APK file (Tiktok_pro.apk) on the system and specifies the source as https://githubusercontent.com/legitprime/10gb/master/Tiktok_pro.apk.
When clicked on the link, a message ‘This site cannot be reached’ is displayed.
Police said any information in this regard can be shared with the Centre via email at ssp.cyber-pb@nic.in to help the department take legal action against the criminals indulging in such fraudulent activities.
