Ripple CEO Sounds Alarm: Surging YouTube Scams Trap XRP Investors—Here’s How to Dodge Them

Another day, another crypto scam—except this time, fraudsters are weaponizing YouTube to target the XRP army. Ripple's CEO just dropped a warning flare.

How the scams work: Fake 'live streams' impersonate Ripple execs, flashing bogus XRP giveaways. Click the link, and your wallet gets drained faster than a Bitcoin maximalist's patience.

Why YouTube? The platform's algorithm favors engagement—and nothing gets clicks like 'FREE XRP!' in a thumbnail. Scammers exploit this, gaming the system while actual creators get demonetized. Classic web3 irony.

Protect yourself: Bookmark Ripple's official channels, never paste private keys anywhere, and remember—if an offer seems too good to be true, it's probably a scam (or a Wall Street prospectus).

Bottom line: As XRP gains traction, bad actors follow. Stay skeptical, verify everything—and maybe keep that 'report' button handy.

Scammers Impersonate Ripple on YouTube, Promoting Fake XRP Reward Events

XRP community member Xtina George flagged the scam in a post on X (formerly Twitter). She revealed that bad actors are using YouTube accounts with a large following of around 176,000 subscribers to promote a fraudulent 100 million XRP reward event. 

These fake accounts are impersonating Ripple by using its logos and branding to trick people into participating. It is worth noting that the official Ripple YouTube channel has around 81,900 subscribers, according to the latest data.

“Btw, this was posted an HOUR AGO. Brand new YouTube advertisement. @YouTube. You need to do better,” Xtina posted on July 22.

The official Ripple account also weighed in on the development. The post explained that the scammers were hijacking accounts and changing the details to make the scam look more legitimate.

“Ripple or our execs will NEVER ask you to send us XRP,” the post read.

The CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, emphasized that the increased visibility and price momentum have attracted malicious actors. He urged users to remain vigilant and report suspicious accounts.

“Like clockwork, with success and market rallies, scammers ramp up their attacks on the crypto community,” Garlinghouse said.

Notably, the pattern of hackers luring XRP users via YouTube to scam them isn’t new. In fact, in 2020, Ripple sued YouTube, alleging the platform failed to curb impersonation scams that duped XRP users.

The company dropped the case in 2021 after reaching an undisclosed settlement with YouTube.

“Social platforms are starting to acknowledge their role in allowing crypto scams to persist and recognize the need to be part of the solution. Some like @xrpforensics are helping detect/track stolen funds, but platforms need to lead the charge or it’s still just whack-a-mole,” Garlinghouse announced.

He added that both parties had agreed to collaborate on combating the issue. Despite this resolution, the recurrence of scams suggests ongoing challenges in enforcement.

“Ripple should sue YouTube all over again in order to keep the XRP community safe,” a user stated.

Meanwhile, the latest YouTube scam came shortly after an AI-generated video of Garlinghouse promoting a fraudulent reward was making rounds on X. BeInCrypto reported that Ripple CTO David Schwartz quickly exposed the video for being fake.

The timing of these scams is also noteworthy. Over the years, scammers have Leveraged heightened attention around the altcoin to lure victims, and this time, it’s no different. 

XRP’s price has been surging since early this month, pushing it to new record highs. However, after the all-time high, a correction has followed. 

BeInCrypto data showed that XRP has dipped 11.54% over the past day. At the time of writing, the coin traded at $3.0.