Ripple CTO Warns XRP Community of New Scam

The Ripple CTO David Schwartz recently issued a warning to the XRP community regarding a new scam scheme that has been targeting unsuspecting OpenSea users.

Schwartz identified the evolving scam in a recent post on X, sharing a screenshot to an email retrieved from one of the scammers’ targets. It is uncertain if the email was sent to David Schwartz himself or if he retrieved it from someone else.

In the email, the scammers claimed to be part of the OpenSea team, informing the recipient that a non-fungible token (NFT) they have listed on the leading NFT marketplace had received a bid. The screenshot shared by Schwartz shows a bid for 0.98 wrapped Ethereum (WETH).

The email also contains details on the purported NFT, emphasizing that the recipient should ensure he is connected to view the details of the bid offer. The scammers then included a link that would supposedly direct the recipient to the details of the offer. This link is malicious.

David Schwartz confirmed this in his post on X, stressing that hovering on the link with a mouse would show a SurveyMonkey link. He noted that this confirms it is a scam.

For the uninitiated, SurveyMonkey is an online survey platform that allows users to create and distribute surveys.

Schwartz stressed that when a user clicks on the link within the scam email, the email would have redirected the individual to a fake OpenSea page wherein the scammers would try to steal their details. However, this plan would no longer work, as SurveyMonkey has already blocked the link.

– Advertisement –

Growing Prevalence of Scams

While the Ripple CTO is recently spotlighting this scam, these malicious actors have been leveraging the scheme for a long time, as discovered by The Crypto Basic in an investigation. Earlier this month, a Redditor revealed that he received a similar offer for an NFT he put on OpenSea.

However, upon clicking a link to view the offer, he was redirected to a URL through which the scammers tried to steal his BNB tokens. The OpenSea users noted that he was vigilant enough to identify the scheme before incurring any losses.

According to the investor, the malicious actors sent the email through SurveyMonkey to circumvent the spam filtering feature from Gmail. Other users confirmed they received similar emails, indicating a growing prevalence of the scheme.

As the crypto industry continues to expand and command greater adoption, more scam schemes have continued to emerge. In November 2023, the XRP community identified a scheme on YouTube using the likeness of Ripple CTO Garlinghouse to promote a fake giveaway. 

A month after calling attention to the scam, YouTube took no action to take it off the platform. Moreover, Schwartz also warned of one such scam promising 100 million XRP giveaway last July.