Suspected Fake TikTok Shop Domain Drives 19% of Phishing Blocks Ahead of Black Friday
Surfshark says a suspected fake TikTok Shop domain drove 19% of phishing blocks, and Black Friday may worsen the risk.
Surfshark’s web content blocker recorded 320,007 blocks tied to the domain over those five months, about 19% of the roughly 1.6 million phishing-category blocks it logged worldwide. The domain remained active in October: it triggered another 96,711 blocks in the first 20 days of the month.
Monthly blocks tied to the domain rose from 16,995 in May to 125,413 in September and peaked at 22.2% of all phishing blocks in August. The domain was part of a broader increase. Total phishing-category blocks rose 524% between April and September, and blocks per protected device climbed 83%, indicating that the growth was not solely caused by more people using the tool.
"Data clearly shows users are being unknowingly rerouted to fraudulent stores designed to steal money and personal information rather than sell genuine products," Justas Pukys, senior product manager at Surfshark, said in comments reported by TechRadar.
Phishing exposure also rose across Europe and the United States. Between April and September, blocks per protected device rose 159% in France, 99% in Italy, 86% in Spain, 54% in the United Kingdom and 38% in Germany. In the US, exposure nearly doubled, with blocks per protected device up 87% and total phishing blocks growing almost sixfold from 20,519 to 122,580.
Ahead of Black Friday, Pukys recommended checking that every shopping site is official, manually typing a trusted address if a redirect looks suspicious, and ignoring promotional links sent by SMS or messaging apps. He also suggested paying with single-use virtual cards.
Security tools can catch some threats. Surfshark’s web content blocker, the tool behind the data, lets users block site categories including phishing even when the VPN is switched off. NordVPN’s next-generation antivirus blocked 94% of phishing sites in AV-Comparatives’ latest test, according to TechRadar. VPN providers are also hardening connections, with Surfshark recently bringing full post-quantum security to WireGuard.
Editor's Summary
Surfshark traced 320,007 phishing blocks to one suspected fake TikTok Shop domain from May to September 2026, about 19% of its global phishing blocks, and recorded another 96,711 blocks in the first 20 days of October. Phishing exposure rose in Europe and the US, and Surfshark advised shoppers to verify sites and avoid promotional links as Black Friday approaches.