Scam Season Is Here: Ripple CEO Warns of YouTube XRP Fraud Amid Market Rally

[cryptoenthusiast]

As crypto prices surge, so do the scammers.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse just sounded the alarm: fraudsters are riding the recent crypto bull wave to impersonate official accounts and rip people off — especially on YouTube.
The Setup:

Crypto scams hit a record $2.1B in H1 2025, already surpassing 2022’s full-year total

XRP spiked to $3.66 on July 18 (just shy of its all-time high), triggering renewed investor excitement

Bitcoin and Ether are up too — BTC trading over $119K, ETH at $3,644

And like clockwork… here come the fake giveaways.
The Scam:

According to Garlinghouse and Ripple’s official X account:

Hackers are taking over YouTube channels (some with over 176K subs)

They rebrand the channel as Ripple, delete content, and upload fake livestreams claiming to give away XRP

Victims are lured into “send-to-receive” scams — you send crypto, you get nothing

Some videos even display fake sponsorship banners and cloned Ripple branding

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

️ Not Just Ripple

Security firm Scam Sniffer reports that fake ads impersonating crypto brands are also ranking at the top of Google search results. They’re using Punycode tricks to spoof legit domains — basically, URLs that look real but aren’t.

Their advice?

“Stop using Google to search for crypto sites unless you enjoy playing Russian roulette with your wallet.”

‍️ Ripple vs YouTube (Throwback)

This isn’t Ripple’s first rodeo:

In 2021, Ripple sued YouTube over similar impersonation scams

They reached a settlement and agreed to work together on anti-scam measures

But clearly, bad actors are back with new tactics

TL;DR:

🚨 Scammers are using hacked YouTube channels to impersonate Ripple

🎣 Fake XRP giveaways are live now — some using massive, verified-looking accounts

🧠 If it sounds too good to be true, it 100% is

🔍 Stop trusting Google ads for crypto — Punycode attacks are everywhere

🛡️ Always verify the source, especially during bull runs

Have you seen any of these fake livestreams or scam ads? Drop screenshots and share tips so others don’t get burned