Brad Garlinghouse Crypto Giveaway is a scam campaign that masquerades as a cryptocurrency giveaway. It falsely claimed to be organized by Ripple Foundation with Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple’s CEO, as the face of the event. It uses a sense of urgency and the allure of receiving free XRP tokens to deceive victims into clicking on fraudulent links and divulging sensitive information.
How the Scam Works
The Brad Garlinghouse Crypto Giveaway scam operates by luring participants with a promise of sharing 100,000,000 XRP through an official-looking link. Once users click on the link, they are redirected to a fraudulent website. There, they may be prompted to provide personal information, wallet credentials, or payment details.
The scheme essentially puts the users at risk of identity theft, as their stolen personal data can be misused. Victims may also face financial fraud, with cybercriminals gaining access to their wallets and conducting unauthorized transactions. In some cases, these fraudulent sites may also infect users’ devices with malware, leading to further security and privacy issues.
The scam is built around false claims of a massive XRP giveaway, supposedly organized to celebrate and thank the cryptocurrency community for its support. While this looks feasible – the value of Ripple cryptocurrency grew 500% over the last several weeks. Nonetheless, neither official website nor social media belonging to Ripple Labs, the company behind XRP, contain any info about any giveaways.
In a typical manner for crypto scam schemes, this one relies heavily on creating a sense of urgency, urging participants to act quickly to avoid missing out on the opportunity. Such social engineering tactics are designed to pressure victims into making hasty decisions without verifying the legitimacy of the offer.
The fraudulent scheme uses links that look genuine to the users, but they are in fact masked through a redirect. Clicking the link actually sends the user to malicious domains – ripplex2[.]net and xrpfunds-promo[.]net. These sites, once again, have a convincing appearance, with Ripple logotypes, Mr. Garlinghouse photos and corresponding text.
As the key element of the scam, the frauds provide cryptocurrency wallet addresses (rJ1ZcMbvEatx82j2d3vcvR7HcfLoWAjnu3), and ask the victims to create accounts to be eligible for the reward. Thing is – all the information left on the website will be accessible to cybercriminals. And they will use it against the user, this or another way, that is out of doubt.
Spreading Methods
Victims often end up on scam websites like the “Brad Garlinghouse Crypto Giveaway” through a variety of deceptive methods. One of the most common ways is through misleading advertisements, which frequently promise free rewards or quick and easy money. These ads are designed to catch users’ attention and redirect them to fraudulent pages.
Another common route is through malicious links embedded in phishing emails, social media messages, or ones found on compromised websites. Typically, the links are provided along with the text that encourages people to participate in “100% legitimate reward program”. This, combined with the legitimate look of the message, makes people believe that the thing is real.
Scammers also exploit search engine algorithms by using trending keywords to manipulate search results, ensuring their fraudulent pages appear prominently when users search for related topics. In certain cases they can embed malicious links into documents uploaded to legit websites, which are then crawled by search engines and result in so-called SEO poisoning.
How to Avoid Falling for Such Scams
To avoid falling for scams like the Brad Garlinghouse Crypto Giveaway, it’s essential to approach enticing offers with skepticism. Always verify such claims through official channels or trusted sources before taking any action. Pay close attention to website URLs, as scammers often use addresses that are misspelled or look suspiciously similar to legitimate ones.
Next, avoid clicking on links that come from unsolicited emails or messages, as these are common entry points for phishing scams. When searching online, don’t click on results labeled “Sponsored” (usually the first ones in the search results).
Lastly, using reliable security software can add an extra layer of protection. For instance, GridinSoft Anti-Malware is effective at detecting and removing potentially unwanted applications, helping to safeguard your device against threats.
