A crypto investigator draws attention to a phony Ripple email promoting a fake XRP giveaway.
Cybercriminals have launched fresh attacks targeting unsuspecting XRP community members to steal their funds. According to an X post shared by crypto investigator @_XRP_QUEEN, hackers impersonating Ripple Labs have been sending malicious emails to XRP community members.
Details of the Scam
Despite impersonating Ripple, the impostor sent malicious emails from an address that has no affiliation with the blockchain payments company.
According to the email, the bad actors claimed that Ripple has “launched a 300M RippleNet Accelerator Program to drive the volume and utility of XRP.”
🚨 New fraud alert 🚨
Email received by fake @Ripple email address – comes in as [email protected]#XRP #XRPCommunity beware ~ do not click on any email links @JoelKatz @bgarlinghouse @illneil please share
Stay Safe fam 💜💜 pic.twitter.com/WBEpst0L4F
— A N G I Ξ 🇨🇦 🇬🇷 🏴☠️🪝 (@_XRP_QUEEN) October 12, 2023
Recipients of the email were told that they could benefit from the program by logging in to their “XRP Toolkit account.” Meanwhile, the attackers attached a button to the email, which users can click to claim XRP.
The development calls for due diligence when clicking links attached to emails. By doing so, the user might be giving the attackers full control of their crypto wallets, which could lead to loss of funds.
RippleNet Accelerator Program
It bears mentioning that Ripple launched the official Accelerator Program on October 13, 2017, to grow the volume and utility of XRP. Per the announcement, Ripple funded the program with $300 million worth of XRP from its holdings.
The program involves two major segments – a volume rebate for XRP and a marketing incentive to drive adoption.
Notably, during the launch of the RippleNet Accelerator Program, the blockchain company did not send emails to XRP holders to alert enthusiasts of the launch. Instead, Ripple took to its official website to announce the launch of the program.
Not New
This is not the first time cybercriminals will be targeting unsuspecting XRP investors. These malefactors have been promoting fake XRP giveaways across social media platforms. They sometimes take their scam antics to the next level by hacking the accounts of top XRP community members to promote these fake giveaways.
In the wake of Ripple’s victory against the SEC, scammers gained remote access to the X account of Attorney Jeremy Hogan to promote a fake XRP giveaway.
“Celebrate XRP’s triumph with some complimentary tokens! Snag your tokens pronto from our website, and let’s get this party started!” the attacker tweeted from Attorney Hogan’s X account.
Notably, the pro-XRP lawyer had since regained his account.
Meanwhile, Ripple CTO David Schwartz has been issuing a series of warnings, alerting the XRP community about these scams. As reported earlier, Schwartz warned the community not to interact with a phishing website promoting a whopping 100 million XRP airdrop.