An XRP wallet scam has gripped the markets lately.
Scammers claim that the US government has created an XRP wallet and is sending airdrops.
The rise of XRP in the last couple of months has created a FOMO that attracts new investors.
Ripple's dominance in the cross-border payments and RWA markets has paved the way to a $7 target in Q1 2025.
A new scam has been spreading on social media platforms. It claims that the US Government has created an XRP Wallet and asks users to send XRP to it. In some versions of this scam, the scammers promise high returns, such as an airdrop or a reward scheme.
What makes the scam look real is that verified social media influencers share these messages without realizing they could be scams.
After some research, Voice of Crypto found that the scam took wallet deposits into a Philippine-based crypto wallet, which suggests that the scammer might be a Filipino or someone in a neighboring country.
The XRP scam looks like a classic scam on its face. This is mostly due to the huge airdrop of $100 million without any credible reason for such a drop.
A critical factor in helping this scam spread was the verified X accounts that have been sharing these messages. After Elon Musk's acquisition, the proliferation of verified badges on X has led to a surge in verified parody or clone accounts that imitate real people.
For example, in the tweet shown below, a person impersonating Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse spreads a message propagating the XRP scam.
With the advancement of AI, these scams could get even more complex. These days, top AI agents are available for a few dollars and could easily impersonate the way Brad Garlinghouse or any internet celebrity would talk, tweet, or even chat with crypto users to lure them into sending tokens to scammers.
A similar fake AI call to a Hong Kong-based company last year, impersonating the CFO of a company, lured another finance executive into sending $25 million to the scammer.
Four major factors contributed to the success of this XRP scam: the broad availability of AI resources, access to verified social media accounts, the innocence of new investors, and the rise in the use of technology for cybercrime.
The latest advancements in AI help scammers build complex images, videos, and even websites from just text or screenshots. For example, if you need the code for the front end of any website, all you need to do is submit a screenshot of the website to any generative AI tool like ChatGPT.
Verified social media handles that were once distinguished between verified and ordinary users can now be bought for a few dollars. This has allowed scammers to create almost identical celebrity-like profiles. This is used to target people who are either new to crypto or lack technical know-how.
Take a look at the parody account, which seems almost like the one handled by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinhouse, except for a small difference in their usernames.
A Fake Brad Garlinghouse Account
X.com
XRP's 45% Rise in the Last 30 Days
CoinMarketCap
XRP has risen over 45% in the last 30 days with strong price action and is almost on the same level as its ATH at $3.84. At press time, XRP was training at $3.18.
Going ahead, a look at its technical charts indicates that XRP sees an imminent positive crossover in MACD and a neutral to strong RSI of 52. Both of these indicate a strong price momentum ahead.
With the end of its regulatory troubles in sight, it could soon cross its ATH and see $4 this month. By the end of this quarter, we expect XRP to cross $7 and $30 by the end of the year.
Fundamentally, XRP's gain stems from its strong presence in the RWA and cross-border payments sectors. XRP's partnership with Abrdn makes it one of the strongest players in the RWA space, and its partnerships with several banks, like the Bank of America, for cross-border transfers help it become the lead player in this space.
Disclaimer: Voice of Crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information but will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.