According to U.Today, Ripple has issued a critical alert to the XRP community in response to a surge in scams targeting XRP holders. The company has noted an increase in the misuse of Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse's likeness in deepfakes and other crypto scams promising free XRP giveaways. Ripple has clarified that neither the company nor any of its executives will ever request anyone to send XRP. To further educate the community, Ripple has produced a demonstration video reinforcing this warning.
Popular scams include impersonation scams, where scammers create a sense of legitimacy by using logos, profile images, deepfakes, or legitimate video excerpts with branding that matches real corporate imagery. Crypto giveaway scams involve social media posts posing as public figures promising free cryptocurrency. Phishing scams often take the form of emails or text messages from a known entity, asking users to respond, visit a website, or send money. Exit scams, or rug pulls, occur when crypto developers withdraw their funds and abandon the project to profit from investors.
Ripple is combating scams on multiple fronts, including collaborating with third-party experts to actively scan the web for potential scams, alerting users to potential scam activity, and working with other blockchain companies to coordinate scam prevention efforts. Ripple has also shared tips for identifying and avoiding social media scams. These include unusual account names, lack of a profile picture, or wording in the comments to a social media post that 'loves' or 'thanks' the company for giveaway winnings. Other indicators include social media comments being restricted or turned off altogether, links to a fraudulent website, or a crypto wallet address asking targets to send money, crypto giveaway scams, and unexpected communications.
Crypto users are advised to always conduct personal due diligence before giving or receiving funds. They should also verify the information by checking the company's website and official social networks. Users are advised to use browsers that support safe browsing, which warns users about risky crypto scam websites or downloads. Lastly, they should remember that if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.