Ripple has issued another warning to the XRP community after a fake Instagram account appeared to impersonate Chief Executive Officer Brad Garlinghouse.
Summary
- A fake Instagram account posed as Brad Garlinghouse and promoted an XRP giveaway scam to users.
- David Schwartz warned the XRP community that Ripple executives will never ask for funds online.
- Ripple repeated that fake support channels, deepfakes, and giveaway posts remain common crypto scam tools.
The case added to a long list of social media scams that use Ripple’s name to target crypto users.
A fake Instagram account posing as Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has been flagged in a new warning to XRP holders. The account reportedly contacted users and promoted an XRP giveaway.
Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz drew attention to the case on social media. He pointed to an older post from 2019 that described a similar message sent from an account pretending to be Garlinghouse.
The message followed a common scam pattern. It asked a user to send XRP first and promised to send back a larger amount later.
Schwartz made clear that the Instagram account was not linked to the Ripple CEO. His response served as a direct warning that the account was fake.
Crypto giveaway scams often copy the names and images of well-known figures. They usually promise free tokens and try to pressure users into acting fast.
In this case, the fake account used Brad Garlinghouse’s identity to build trust. It then pushed the false claim that users could receive more XRP after sending funds.
The warning also comes as deepfake videos and fake support accounts remain common across social media. Scammers often use these tactics to make fake promotions appear real.
Schwartz’s message repeated a point Ripple has made before. Any request to send XRP in exchange for a larger return should be treated as a scam.
Ripple repeats safety guidance to XRP community
Ripple has said in earlier notices that it will never ask users to send XRP. The company has also warned that fake livestreams, fake giveaways, and fake support channels are often used in fraud attempts.
Ripple has also stated that it does not operate an official Telegram channel. Any account claiming to represent Ripple there should be treated with caution.
The company has told users that its staff will not ask for wallet details, passwords, personal data, or payments through unofficial channels. That guidance also applies to messages that appear to come from executives.
The latest scam alert keeps that message in focus. Ripple employees, including Garlinghouse, will not ask users to send funds or join suspicious investment offers.