I'm still receiving emails from strangers [1] who for some reason or another, think their email address is “seanconner@gmail.com” (no [2], really [3], I [4] get [5] so [6] many [7] emails [8]). This time, it's from someone who's TikTok account was accessed on a new device:
From: TikTok <noreply@account.tiktok.com>
To: seanconner@gmail.com
Subject: New device login detected
Date: Tue, 03 Sep 2024 04:56:22 +0000 (UTC)
> Hi xs,
We’re writing to inform you that we detected a login to your account from a new device.
When: 09/03 00:56 EDT > Device: iPhone 11 > Near: Louisiana
If this was you, you can ignore this message.
If this wasn’t you, open the TikTok app and go to “Settings and privacy” > “Security and login” > “Security alerts” and review unauthorized logins. If you’re unable to access your account, contact TikTok support [9].
You can also set up 2-step verification to secure your account by going to “Security and login” > “2-step verification”. > Learn more about 2-step verification [10]
This is an automatically generated email. > Replies to this email address aren’t monitored.
This email was generated for xs > Privacy Policy [11] > TikTok 5800 Bristol Pkwy, Culver City, CA 90230
It's not a phishing email as the raw message doesn't contain a link to “login” to TikTok, and the links that are in the email all point to the TikTok domain. So I'm at a loss. “xs” created a TikTok account, using my email address …
Why?
I don't know why this should surprise me any more, but it still does. I just … why? How? What's the angle here?
I can't even contact anyone, because TikTok send email from an address that isn't checked. I don't know who “xs” is, nor do I have any way to contact “xs” to inform them of their error.
Sigh.
[9] https://www.tiktok.com/legal/report/feedback
[10] https://support.tiktok.com/en/safety-hc/account-and-user-safety/account-safety