Ripple CTO warns of XRP scams using deepfake videos of CEO

Another deepfake video impersonating Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is making the rounds on social media, falsely promoting an XRP giveaway. Ripple’s chief technology officer has told the community that the video is an “obvious scam.”

The deepfake video was shared on Friday via the official X account of Honey Bee, a platform that deals in tokenized real-world assets. In the video, an AI-rendered version of Garlinghouse claimed Ripple was launching a “Ripple Rewards program” with a 100 million XRP airdrop to thank supporters for the company’s legal win over the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Fake message says ‘we did this together’

In the clip, Garlinghouse stated, “Four years ago, we entered a battle we didn’t choose. But we fought and we won against the SEC. This is a victory for justice, innovation, and the future of crypto… Now it’s our turn to say thank you. I’m launching the Ripple Rewards program, 100 million XRP airdrop pool created for you. Follow the instructions at financexrp.net. Thank you, XRP family. We did this together.”

📢 HUUUGEE NEWS FOR CRYPTO HOLDERS !!🔉 SOUND ON 🔉 #XRP pic.twitter.com/ZZB7cRzIDu

— Honey Bee (@HoneybeeBTC) July 18, 2025

Schwartz almost immediately debunked the video and called it “an AI-generated fake,” asking users not to fall for the fraud attempt. He also shared a YouTube Short, where the real Garlinghouse educates viewers on the dangers of deepfake scams. The video reiterated that “Ripple will never ask you to send XRP.”

Obvious scam is obvious.

— David 'JoelKatz' Schwartz (@JoelKatz) July 18, 2025

Scammers have been trying to steal tokens from investors since Ripple began its court battle with the SEC back in December 2020. They have been syncing with the company’s “legal victories” to stage deceptive campaigns. 

Each time Ripple won a court case against the SEC, several fake XRP airdrops or reward programs flooded social media, targeting unsuspecting investors.

“A lot of scammers are taking advantage of the recent good news to try to cheat and steal. There are no airdrops, giveaways, or special offers associated with this ruling,” he said on X.

In August 2024, Judge Torres ordered the company to pay a $125 million fine, a fraction of the $2 billion originally sought by the SEC. After that court ruling, scammers created fake giveaway schemes, forcing Ripple to warn its community again.

“And once again with Wednesday’s historic victory, we’ve seen an uptick in scams. Please beware of scam ‘Ripple’ accounts, fake executive accounts or others promoting ‘XRP Giveaways’ or ‘XRP Airdrops.’ Ripple and its executives will NEVER ask you to send funds anywhere,” the firm’s statement read.

Fraudulent activity on XRPL

On June 4, Panos Mekras, the co-founder of XRPL-based decentralized finance platform Anodos Finance, said on X that the network was experiencing an influx of low-effort scam projects.

Mekras mentioned that projects that rush to launch tokens and hold presales without a working product or verifiable use case are more likely to be scams. 

“Sceptical of any project launching a token and doing presales, especially if they don’t have a working product or anything to prove,” he wrote.

Ripple CTO David Schwartz supported his sentiments, asserting that open blockchain ecosystems are “vulnerable to bad actors”. 

“Mathematically, this almost has to be true of almost any open ecosystem. It’s just so much easier to create a scam than something real,” he remarked..

Despite the deepfake controversy, XRP is trading at $3.43, up 4.8% in the past 24 hours. Market analytics show the token in the middle of a dense cluster of bid walls between $3.50 and $3.5746. If prices dip, these walls could slow or even reverse potential sell-offs.

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