If your TikTok ad credit was used without your authorization, you are likely dealing with unauthorized access to your TikTok Ads Manager account. Act quickly. The priority is to secure your account, stop any further unauthorized activity, and then work with TikTok to investigate and potentially recover the credit or reverse fraudulent charges.
Immediate Actions to Secure Your Account
- Change your TikTok for Business password immediately. Go directly to ads.tiktok.com and use the account settings to update your password to a strong, unique one not used for any other service.
- Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) if it is not already active. This prevents anyone with your old password from continuing to access the account.
- Review all active campaigns. Check whether any campaigns were created or modified that you did not authorize. Pause any unfamiliar campaigns to stop further spend.
- Review billing and payment history. Check for unauthorized charges or unusual spend patterns in your billing section.
- Check for unauthorized users. If your account is part of a Business Center, verify that no unknown users or sub-accounts have been added.
Contacting TikTok to Report Unauthorized Use
After securing your account, contact TikTok Business Support through the official Help Center at ads.tiktok.com/help. Report the unauthorized activity and request an investigation. Provide as much detail as possible: the dates of unauthorized activity, the credit amount used without authorization, any campaign IDs associated with the activity, and evidence of the unauthorized access.
See how to contact TikTok Ads support for an ad credit issue for how to submit an effective support request.
Disputing Unauthorized Charges
If unauthorized ad spend was charged to your payment method through TikTok Ads Manager, you have two parallel paths: TikTok’s internal dispute process and your payment provider’s dispute process. File with TikTok first through their official support channel and document the case number or reference.
If TikTok’s process does not result in a resolution within a reasonable timeframe, you can escalate to your bank or card issuer with evidence of the unauthorized charges. For TikTok’s internal appeal process specifically, see how to appeal if TikTok ad credit was incorrectly deducted.
It is also worth understanding that TikTok’s policies permit credit revocation in cases involving fraud or unauthorized activity. See whether TikTok can revoke ad credit after issuing it for the conditions under which credit adjustments can occur.
Frequently Asked Questions
How would an unauthorized party have accessed my credit in the first place?
The most common cause is compromised account credentials. If your Ads Manager password was captured through a phishing site, a data breach on a reused password, or by entering your credentials into a fraudulent third-party service, the attacker now has access to your account and its credit balance. This is why using a unique password for ads.tiktok.com and enabling two-factor authentication are essential security practices.
Will TikTok restore credit that was used without my authorization?
TikTok reviews unauthorized use claims on a case-by-case basis. There is no guaranteed restoration of credit used by unauthorized parties, but TikTok’s support team can investigate the account activity and, depending on the circumstances, may reverse charges or restore credit. The strength of your case depends on how promptly you reported the issue, the evidence you provide, and whether the unauthorized access was clearly a result of external compromise rather than internal account sharing.
Should I close my account if it was compromised?
Closing your account is usually not the best first step. Changing your password, enabling two-factor authentication, removing any unauthorized users, and pausing unauthorized campaigns addresses the immediate security issue while preserving your account data, campaign history, and any remaining credit. Closing and reopening an account would mean starting over as a new advertiser with no historical data. Contact TikTok support before taking any irreversible steps.
What if the unauthorized use was by someone at my own company?
Unauthorized internal use, where an employee or contractor accessed credit without permission, is handled through the same TikTok support process. Document the specific activity you did not authorize, the dates, and the amounts. You may also need to review and revoke the access permissions of the individuals involved through your Business Center account settings. TikTok’s support can advise on how to document and report this type of case. See the most common TikTok ad credit scams for additional context on how account access can be exploited.
