Ripple’s chief technology officer (CTO) David Schwartz impersonated Jed McCaleb, the co-founder of Ripple who left Ripple to found Stellar in 2014, and tricked Mr.
Schwartz posted a screenshot of the scam email with the caption, “Seriously?!”
The scammer used his real identity and past relationship with Ripple to impersonate Jed McCaleb.
This email requested $1 million in USDT on the Ethereum blockchain. The specific Ethereum address mentioned does not show any previous activity. This is likely a newly generated wallet created just for this scam.
why is it irrational
Mr. Makaleb is a billionaire who has sold billions of XRP over the years. Therefore, the chances of him begging for $1 million are virtually zero.
As one of Ripple’s original co-founders (along with Chris Larsen and others), he received a large allocation of XRP tokens as part of the company’s initial structure.
From 2014 to 2022, Makaleb systematically sold almost all of his 9 billion XRP according to this schedule. Estimates vary slightly depending on source and timing, but he recognized the total revenue from these sales to be approximately $3 billion to $3.5 billion.
Forbes and other reliable sources estimate Mr. McCaleb’s net worth to be approximately $2.9 billion.
Scammer targeting Schwartz
Due to his high-profile role in the XRP/Ripple ecosystem, Schwartz has been the target of numerous crypto-related scams and phishing attempts over the years.
In August, for example, we shared a hilariously poorly spelled phishing email that posed as an email from X/Twitter Support and joked that you needed to change your “password.”
In January, he posted a fake Coinbase support email asking people to update their accounts.
In May 2024, Schwartz revealed that he was caught in the early stages of a sophisticated Apple ID phishing scam, but discovered it before any damage was done.
as U.Today reportedRipple recently launched a new holiday anti-fraud campaign.
Discover more from Earlybirds Invest
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
