Scammers Targeting the XRP Community Become More Sophisticated

In summary:

• Crypto scams have continued to plague the industry and the orchestrators are becoming more sophisticated. 
• The XRP Community is continually being targetted by these unscrupulous individuals.
• XRP Community members are leading the charge in identifying fraudulent offers online. 
• Ripple has also joined the effort of identifying and eradicating such scams. 

Crypto traders and investors are often bombarded with online offers for one-of-a-kind investment deals that look to good to be true. Such offers are usually through Twitter, Telegram, Reddit, LinkedIn, fake websites, and via the occasional random email. Over the years, savvy crypto enthusiasts have come up with methods of identifying such unscrupulous individuals who target major communities such as the XRP Army.

Scammers Targeting the XRP Community Become More Sophisticated

Members of the XRP community are leading the charge in identifying such scams that continue to change tactics. The most recent scam was identified by PandaRippleXRP who pointed out that the individuals behind these fraudulent activities are becoming more sophisticated. PandRippleXRP shared this information on Twitter via the following tweets.

Take a look at how legit it looks!

Scammer must have spend quite some time to create this!

Please share by retweet! Let everyone knows that the 2 billion #XRP giveaway is SCAM! pic.twitter.com/RnNadQw8ur

— ?PandaRippleXRP? (@RipplePandaXRP) May 28, 2020

Ripple Advises on How to Spot a Scam

The team at Ripple has also observed that scammers are increasingly targeting the XRP community and has provided information on how to spot such scams.

In a very elaborate post, the team at Ripple has explained that the easiest way of spotting a scam is when the imposters request crypto before sending the reward they have promised. The team at Ripple further explains that winnings from a legitimate offer are usually free to redeem.

In many cases, the first warning that a giveaway ad is a scam is that in order to receive the reward, you must first send money and/or provide your personal financial account information.

For any real sweepstakes, winnings are always free and never ask for money or financial account information upfront.

It is Essential to Investigate the Giveaway through Personal Due Diligence

As earlier mentioned, scammers are evolving with many employing more sophisticated tactics to appear legitimate. Some of their tricks include:

• Using company logos
• Impersonating management on social media by using their profile pics and using usernames that are similar
• Offering giveaways by using bots to reply to top social media posts on Twitter
• Sending private messages on Telegram and Twitter
• and Other psychological tricks to fool potential victims

Team Ripple further explains that personal due diligence is key in validating any giveaway on social media.

If a giveaway looks real, we suggest first visiting the company’s main website and verified social channels to confirm if the ad is readily viewable.

If an ad is real, more than likely the sweepstakes are also featured on the main pages of legitimate company sites.

Also, you can contact the company directly and inquire about the contest.

How to Report Scams Targeting XRP Investors

Additionally, in response to the increment in scams targeting the XRP community, the team at Ripple has hired an external cybersecurity and digital threat intelligence vendor to help in the efforts of identifying and taking down fraudulent giveaways. XRP community members are also requested to report any unusual activity using this form.