Is that really Ripple? Deepfake scams target XRP holders on YouTube

Ripple, and his CEO Brad Garlinghouse, have issued an urgent warning and the community warns about an increase in deepfake scamming that occurs as the blockchain company on YouTube.

Ripple has witnessed an increase in fraudulent live streams, often with the help of changed images of business leaders, a recent warning on the official X account of the company.

According to the company, scammers hacked legitimate YouTube channels, adjusting them to resemble the branding of Ripple and the broadcasting of fake XRP roads.

What are this DeepFake foundation, and how do they work?

For those who are not aware, DeepFake scams usually include AI-generated videos that occur as prominent crypto ex-executives, with the help of earlier images that have been adjusted to imitate live announcements.

The scammers often claim that Ripple offers a “special event” or “limited time opportunities”, whereby users can double their XRP by sending money to a specified wallet address.

A recurring theme in these schedules is the promise to multiply user deposits, accompanied by fake time stamps, manipulated transaction logs and QR codes that link to fraudulent websites.

At the time of the press, observed crypto.news that at least two YouTube channels live streaming Deepfaked versions of Garlinghouse were using recycled video.

Both streams contain QR codes on the screen, overlays that imitate the branding of Ripple and voice-overs generated by AI that encouraged viewers to participate in a ‘giveaway event’. The channels each had more than 20,000 viewers.

Has Ripple or his managers been the target earlier?

Yes, this is not the first time Ripple or his managers have been used in scams. Ripple CEO Garlinghouse has previously appeared in a deep -fake swam video that spread widely among XRP holders, who wrongly promoted a different doubling schedule.

Ripple has consistently warned that neither the company nor his managers will ever ask users to send cryptocurrency.

Why is Ripple a recurring target for simulation?

Ripple’s high -profile legal fighting, mainstream recognition, the large and vocal community and the historical performance of XRP make it a consistent target for imitators. XRP has risen around 40% in the past month and places it in the spotlight during the wider crypto -market trally.

Scammers often use such a bullish sentiment to increase the credibility of their regulations and to attract unsuspecting investors who want to benefit from price movements.

Garlinghouse itself warned that market trallys often coincide with an increase in scam activity, explains.

“Just like timepiece, with success and markettrallies, scammers raises their attacks,” he wrote in a recent X after.

Unfortunately, scammers also look beyond Ripple when it comes to coming up with new ways to cheat on unsuspecting cryptocurrency investors. Over the years, various big personalities and brands are the target of scammers.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, for example, was presented in a live stream -scam with the iPhone “Glowtime” event in September 2024. More than 355,000 people watched the video, which used a manipulated interview clip to promote a fake crypto -way campaign.

Elon Musk, SpaceX, Vitalik Buterin and even co-founder of Apple Steve Wozniak are all the target of comparable campaigns, many of which were broadcast on YouTube and other social platforms.

In the meantime, in 2023, well-followed Youtuber Didyouknowgaming was lost control of his channel, which was reused to promote an XRP road giving action before YouTube intervened.

Has YouTube done something to stop this scams?

Ripple previously sued Youtube in 2020 because of the failure to act against imitation and fraud, causing the platform to benefit from the activity. However, the case was withdrawn in March 2021 after both parties had reached an unknown agreement to work together against fraudulent content.

However, the repetition of similar scams in 2023, 2024 and now 2025 raises questions about the ability of the platform to consistently maintain the protection.

YouTube does not yet have to give a formal answer to the current wave of wrinkle -related scams, despite several reports from users and affected parties.

Previous statements have encouraged users to report videos using the flag tools of the platform, but victims quarrel This enforcement is inconsistent and often too slow to prevent financial losses.

As previously reported by crypto.news, the former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao repeated similar problems last month after reports emerged from zoom-based phishing attacks using DeepFake-Video calls.

Last year, a Bitget report estimated that at least $ 79 billion in crypto losses was the result of DeepFake scams between 2022 and 2024.