Some TikTok users have grown concerned after several viral videos circulated warning users to be wary of a group called the ‘Dave Team,’ with rumors suggesting they kidnap people using profile data from the app.
TikTok has undoubtedly been one of the most popular apps of the past year or so, dominating internet culture with its many trends, and becoming a hotspot for people to share funny videos and stories with the rest of the huge user base.
The user base, in general, is on the young side, with many teens having accounts on the app. TikTok even recently enforced a rule that all under 16s must have private accounts, in order to maintain the safety of young people.
Now, several TikToks that warn users of a mysterious group called the ‘Dave Team’ are going viral, and people are concerned that they may be vulnerable to attack.
They warn that profiles belonging to the team often have profile pictures of Asian women, and will like users’ comments on other people’s videos. The videos instruct people to not click on these suspicious profiles, and especially not links in their bios, as they claim this will allow the Dave Team to get hold of personal information, such as your IP address, that they will then use to kidnap you.
Some advice circulating suggests that people should delete their accounts if they had clicked on one of the links to protect themselves, though there is no evidence that this is effective.
Is the Dave Team real?
Whether an organization called the Dave Team is real is difficult to discern, but some users on Reddit who say they are programmers have disputed the idea that these people can access personal information just by clicking on your TikTok account. They suggest that as long as you don’t click on the link in their bio, you are safe.
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User NomNomNomNation said, “Programmer here. That’s not even slightly possible. If you don’t click the link in their bio, you’re fine. Watching the videos themselves can’t do anything, and they definitely do not have this person’s info.”
However, at the time of writing the rumors don’t appear to have been addressed by any official authority, and there is still a high possibility that the story is being distorted in order to deliberately terrify people.
It’s always a good idea to avoid clicking on links from suspicious accounts, as regardless of whether the kidnapping rumors are true, these accounts may well still be trying to scam you into giving them sensitive information.
