Ripple Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz has warned investors of a surge in crypto scams following a $3 million XRP heist that has shaken market confidence. Schwartz cautioned on social media platform X on Oct. 21 that phishing emails are spreading under the disguise of hardware wallet providers, urging users to carry out false “security upgrades” or “verification processes” designed to steal funds.

He stated:

Huge increase in phishing emails claiming hardware wallet security upgrades or verification processes. Ignore any such messages you receive unless you can independently confirm them and NEVER enter a hardware wallet’s seed phrase into anything other than the hardware wallet.

His message underscores the growing wave of phishing operations that mimic trusted wallet brands to deceive investors into surrendering their recovery phrases — a single misstep that can lead to irreversible loss of digital assets.

His warning followed reports of a $3 million XRP theft that rattled the crypto community when hackers compromised what was believed to be a secure cold wallet later found to be a hot wallet. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT explained on Oct. 19 that a U.S. investor lost 1.2 million XRP from an Ellipal wallet after mistakenly importing their cold wallet seed phrase into a mobile app, effectively transforming it into a hot wallet.

Ellipal confirmed: “It turns out the user accidentally imported their cold wallet seed phrase into the app, which made it a hot wallet.” The attacker reportedly executed more than 120 Ripple-to-Tron swaps through the cross-chain platform Bridgers, channeling funds to over-the-counter entities linked to the sanctioned Southeast Asian marketplace Huione. Analysts warn the case reflects the sector’s ongoing struggle with user education and wallet product clarity, factors scammers continue to exploit as crypto adoption expands.

• What warning did Ripple CTO David Schwartz issue to crypto investors?
  Ripple CTO David Schwartz warned users about a growing wave of phishing scams disguised as hardware wallet providers, urging them to ignore any messages requesting “security upgrades” or “verification.”
• What happened in the recent $3 million XRP theft?
  A U.S. investor reportedly lost 1.2 million XRP after accidentally importing their cold wallet seed phrase into a mobile app, which converted it into a hot wallet and exposed it to hackers.
• How are scammers exploiting investor trust in the crypto ecosystem?
  Phishing groups are impersonating well-known wallet brands to deceive users into sharing recovery phrases, taking advantage of confusion around wallet management and security updates.
• What steps are being urged to improve digital asset protection worldwide?
  Experts advocate for stronger investor education, clearer wallet product design, and enhanced verification systems to reduce human error and strengthen crypto security standards.

免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。