A Ripple CEO scam on YouTube featuring an impersonator of Brad Garlighouse is defrauding viewers and squeezing out money from gullible XRP investors. Crypto scams are not new to the industry. But this latest Ripple CEO scam features a bad actor impersonating the chief executive officer of Ripple Brad Garlighouse to entice investors towards a 50 million XRP token giveaway. Most veteran crypto investors will recognize the scammer instantly and this fake Brad Garlinghouse crypto scam has its days numbered.
This is not the first time that celebrity quotient has been used in a crypto scam. Scammers have piggybacked on the popularity and fan following of prominent crypto celebrities. However, this is probably the first time that a scammer has tried to impersonate a famous personality and that too, Brad Garlinghouse.
Bogus YouTube channel hosts Ripple CEO scam
YouTube is a hotbed of crypto scams. Every now and then, a new blockchain or virtual currency scam emerges on the video-sharing website. This particular Ripple CEO scam is hosted on a phony YouTube channel with fake 276,000 subscribers. Ripple community members identified and reported the purported scam to warn other XRP investors.
https://twitter.com/AndySpqr/status/1242233214170804225
XRP community has sent many requests to YouTube to shut down the channel and bring down the scam immediately. The alleged YouTube stream has one person posing as Brad Garlighouse. He discusses a giveaway of 50 million XRP tokens. Viewers are cajoled into investing in airdrop scams that vanish overnight.
It is worth mentioning here that crypto giants such as Ethereum and Ripple never conduct giveaways. Most importantly, they won’t ask upfront money ever from their investors. These are big brands with established legacy. Such personalities and brands have no need to indulge in small funding endeavors.
Celebrity crypto scams are back in town
Recently, Daniel Craig crypto scam used the 007 brand image to fraud investors. The fraud focused on the delay in the launch of the latest Bond flick ‘No Time to Die’ and then redirects users towards a Ponzi crypto scheme.
Every social media platform is flooded with intricate crypto scams. Scamsters weaponize the popularity of these channels to catch their prey. In a sea of crypto scams, the Ripple CEO scam on YouTube, sure scores high on ingenuity.
