1. Overview

1.1 Introduction

The TikTok Shop Fake Order Control Guidelines have been formulated with the express purpose of:

• Building a positive shopping environment on TikTok Shop; and
• Providing a shopping experience that consumers can have confidence in.

All sellers who offer products for sale via TikTok Shop must do so in accordance with these guidelines.

1.2 Scope

Our TikTok Shop Fake Order Control Guidelines apply to all sellers, buyers, and orders placed on TikTok Shop.
The guidelines on this page are updated periodically. Sellers should check this page regularly to ensure that they are in compliance with our current guidelines.

2. Fake Orders

Fake orders are any orders for an item or service on TikTok Shop that are not made by a legitimate buyer or for a legitimate sale purpose. Fake orders can be placed by the seller themselves, individual(s) connected to the seller or a group of affiliates to increase sales or shop performance (such as order counts, shop ratings, product reviews, etc.) or abuse our platform's services.
TikTok Shop controls fake orders to prevent our services from being abused by fraudulent sellers. Behaviors related to fake orders jeopardize the credibility of our platform by misleading buyers into thinking a seller is trustworthy. This makes it unjust for legitimate sellers who provide genuine merchandise and services. It also negatively impacts customer trust and shopping experience on our TikTok Shop platform.

2.1 Fake Order Behaviour

Behaviors related to fake orders include but are not limited to:

• An order that is placed by the seller themselves, individual(s) connected to the seller, or by affiliates who are engaged or working together with the seller.
• An order's logistics tracking data does not match the shipping address.
• An order's tracking number is invalid or fake.
• A single or group of buyers frequently purchases large amounts of the same or similar items from a seller.
• The seller's product reviews do not make sense or do not match the product listing.
• Other unreasonable behaviors that are targeted at increasing sales performance or abuse our platform's services.

3. Enforcement Actions (Fake Order Behaviour)

Sellers who are found to violate these Fake Order Control Guidelines will have enforcement actions taken against their account and any linked accounts that have or may have been involved in similar behaviour in accordance with our TikTok Shop Seller Performance Evaluation Policy and Merchant Terms of Service. Sellers should note that repeated offenses will result in more significant penalties.
Enforcement actions may include, but are not limited to:

• Issuing formal warnings.
• Freezing or deactivating relevant product listings.
• Suspending listing privileges.
• Removing fake sales volume and product reviews.
• Recovering any losses caused by fake order behaviour or abuse of vouchers or subsidies, including but not limited to financial/efficiency losses and operating costs of the associated investigation. The operating costs of the associated investigation are capped at a maximum of USD 200 for each violation caused by fake order behaviour or abuse of vouchers or subsidies.
• Implementing temporary or permanent traffic control measures.
• Order Volume Limits.
• Temporarily or permanently withdrawing seller benefits.
• Temporarily or permanently suspending the seller's enrollment of Affiliates and participation in platform campaigns.
• Temporarily or permanently suspending access to TikTok Shop.
• Temporarily withholding sale balances or cancelling transactions associated with the seller's account (see section 4 for more details).
• Cancelling or withdrawing any promotions or subsidies offered to the seller.
• Deactivating the seller's account.
• Initiating legal action against the seller.
• Reporting the seller to relevant regulatory authorities for prosecution (TikTok Shop reserves the right to provide necessary account information to regulatory authorities).

TikTok Shop also reserves the right to report sellers who violate local laws and regulations to the relevant legal authorities where appropriate. TikTok Shop reserves the right to provide any relevant information about the seller's account or behavior resulting in fake orders on the platform to authorities without prior notice to the seller.
Sellers should note that multiple enforcement actions may be taken against them. If a seller account is suspended or restricted, TikTok Shop will send a notice to you setting out the reasons for such suspension or restriction.

4. Withholding Balance

In addition to TikTok Shop's rights listed above, if we reasonably believe that a seller has committed a severe violation of this policy, any TikTok Shop Policies or our Merchant Terms of Service then any monies due or that may become due to the seller (including but not limited to sales proceeds) (collectively referred to as "Balance") may be temporarily or permanently withheld from the seller. This decision can be made at TikTok Shop's sole discretion and without prior notice to the seller.
Such withholding of the Balance may be done for the longer of:
(a) 90 calendar days from the date of TikTok Shop's notification of the suspension; or
(b) The completion of TikTok Shop's investigation into the seller's suspected breach.
If TikTok Shop determines (acting reasonably) that the seller's breach of these Terms or any TikTok Shop Policies has caused TikTok Shop, buyer(s) or other third parties any loss or damage, including operating costs of any associated investigation, the seller may be required to compensate, out of the Balance, TikTok Shop and/or affected buyer(s) or other relevant third parties.
A seller may file an appeal against this enforcement action in accordance with section 5 below.
If the appeal is successful, TikTok Shop will release the monies due to the seller.

5. Appeal

If a seller is suspected of violating this policy, they may receive a notification via email and a violation notification in the Seller Center.
If a seller believes that an enforcement action was taken against them in error, they may file an appeal through the Seller Center by raising a ticket. TikTok Shop will then investigate the case and take corrective actions where applicable.
The appeal guidelines are as follows:

• Sellers can raise a maximum of two appeals against one case.
• The first appeal can be raised within 30 days of our enforcement.
• The second appeal can be raised within 15 days of rejection of the first appeal.
• If the seller's appeal is successful, we will remove any penalties issued and restore any withdrawn privileges.
• If the seller fails to raise the appeals within the respective time limit, or is unable to provide any valid and clear documents to prove authenticity, then it will be regarded as a failed appeal.
• All decisions made by TikTok Shop are at our sole discretion. A decision is final after the second appeal is rejected.
• Any appeals raised after the timelines stipulated above will not constitute a valid appeal and will not be reviewed by TikTok Shop.
• In certain cases, some violations cannot be appealed. Such cases are at TikTok sole discretion and may be enforced according to the level of severity of the seller's actions.

Please note that during an investigation, sellers are responsible for the following:

• Collecting and preparing all supporting documents to prove the authenticity of the business or of specific order(s).
• Providing a clear explanation on why the enforcement action was taken against them in error.
• Providing any additional materials or information that may be required by TikTok Shop.

Important Note: Submitting an appeal does not guarantee a successful outcome. Appeals ensure that TikTok Shop will conduct a review of the relevant case in consideration of additional materials or explanation provided by the seller.