Ripple has issued a renewed warning to the XRP community following the discovery of a fake Instagram account impersonating the company's Chief Executive Officer, Brad Garlinghouse. The fraudulent account reportedly contacted users directly, promoting a classic cryptocurrency giveaway scam that promised to send back a larger amount of XRP if the victim sent funds first.
Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz brought public attention to the scam on social media, explicitly stating, "That's definitely not his," in reference to the impersonating account. Schwartz pointed to a similar incident from 2019, highlighting that this type of fraud follows a persistent and familiar pattern. He reiterated the critical warning that Ripple executives will never ask users to send funds online.
The company's latest alert emphasizes that fake support channels, deepfake videos, and fraudulent giveaway posts remain common tools for scammers targeting the crypto space. Ripple has consistently stated that it will never ask users to send XRP and does not operate an official Telegram channel. The firm advises that any account claiming to represent Ripple on such platforms should be treated with extreme caution.
Ripple's official guidance clarifies that its employees, including CEO Brad Garlinghouse, will not contact users through unofficial channels to request wallet details, passwords, personal data, or payments. This latest incident adds to a long history of social media scams that misuse Ripple's brand and executive identities to exploit cryptocurrency holders.
