AI TikTok videos promising free Spotify and Windows subscriptions install malware, hacking users

Scammers are now using TikTok videos to install malware with a promise of free Microsoft Windows, Office365, and Spotify Premium. The malware is designed to steal private data such as personal documents, crypto, and social media logins.

Trend Micro expert Junestherry Dela Cruz reported that the company thinks AI is being used to keep the scam going. This is because the videos that promote it all use the same fake voices and almost the same camera angles and shots.

The Trend Micro expert also said that traditional security tools won’t be able to stop it because the malware isn’t being sent through an email file or a software flaw. Instead, it is being installed by people who want a free subscription.

“There is no malicious code present on the platform for security solutions to analyze or block,” the company explained in a report on the attack. “All actionable content is delivered visually and aurally.”

Millions of TikTok users are affected

The AI TikTok videos have amassed many views. Also the designers have made it very easy. As long as you put a simple command into the PowerShell command-line tool in Windows, they say it’s easy to get paid subscriptions.

It’s hard to know how many people actually did what the videos said to install malware, but a lot of people watched the videos on TikTok. There were more than 500,000 views on the video that said it would “boost your Spotify experience instantly.” And two TikTok accounts with 11 videos between them got almost 1 million views.

One viewer asked, “Is this safe?” in the comments of a movie with over 550,000 views that showed how to get pro features in Windows. As an answer, other people left comments. One said that running the code had wiped their hard drive, and another said, “These videos hacked all of my accounts.”

TikTok told Forbes that it deleted all the accounts the researchers had flagged as potentially harmful. The younger generation mainly uses China-based social media platforms. 

This report puts it at risk, especially in the US, where crypto has been embraced the most. Proof of concept is Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram. He has been facing charges over his social media platform being used by criminals.

🇺🇸 FIRST LADY MELANIA: AI AND SOCIAL MEDIA ARE “DIGITAL CANDY” TURNED DEADLY

“Artificial intelligence and social media are the digital candy for the next generation—sweet, addictive, and engineered to impact the cognitive development of our children.

But unlike sugar, these new… https://t.co/iYwjsVX6As pic.twitter.com/Ne2XdvVhp3

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 19, 2025

Meanwhile,  the US government is trying to curb illicit behaviours through the Take It Down Act. The First Lady cautioned, “Artificial intelligence and social media are the digital candy for the next generation—sweet, addictive, and engineered to impact the cognitive development of our children. But unlike sugar, these new technologies can be weaponized, shape beliefs, and, sadly, affect emotions—and even be deadly.”

TikTok US employees are getting ready for probable layoffs

Some of TikTok’s US employees have been asked to work from home because the company is reportedly getting ready to lay off workers. The e-commerce division has told its workers to stay home and wait for “difficult decisions.” 

The Chinese-owned company wants to streamline its business. This means that the US e-commerce arm is getting ready for changes to how it works and who works there.

According to reports,  Mu Qing, who took over as head of TikTok Shop in the US last month, said that the company is looking into ways to create a more efficient operating model. TikTok has over 1,000 employees in the Seattle region, with additional offices in New York, Texas, and California.

Changes will start early Wednesday in the US e-commerce operations center and the global key accounts teams.