Indian Supreme Court YouTube Hack: Ripple, XRP Deepfakes Promoted by Hackers

As a seasoned researcher with a keen interest in digital assets and cybersecurity, this latest incident of hacking the Supreme Court of India’s YouTube channel to promote a fraudulent Ripple and XRP investment scheme is a stark reminder of the growing menace of deepfakes and crypto scams.


Last Friday, I sadly found my trusted source of legal crypto-related information, the Supreme Court of India’s YouTube channel, compromised. Hackers managed to seize control and wiped out all prior video content to push a deceitful Ripple and XRP investment scheme instead. Despite warnings from Ripple, the American crypto payments company, about fraudulent activities and deepfakes, these incidents persist in multiplying.

Indian Supreme Court YouTube Channel Hacked

On September 20, as per the report by ANI, an unauthorized takeover of the YouTube channel belonging to the Indian Supreme Court was used to broadcast a deepfake video featuring Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, promoting a bogus XRP investment plan.

Cybercriminals swapped the title of a YouTube channel with ‘Ripple’, erasing old content and inciting viewers to participate in a fraudulent investment scheme. The platform has since taken down the affected account due to rule violations, and they’re working on returning it to its original condition.

It seems the YouTube channel belonging to the Supreme Court of India has been compromised, and it’s now displaying videos related to the American firm, Ripple.

— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2024

“We wanted to let everyone know that our YouTube channel has temporarily stopped functioning, as stated by the Supreme Court. We anticipate resuming our services there soon.

Deepfakes and Scams Related to Ripple and XRP Rising

Ripple has repeatedly advised its investors and the wider cryptocurrency community to exercise caution regarding fraudulent emails or links, as well as deepfake videos. Recently, Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, emphasized the increasing prevalence of these types of scams involving deepfakes.

Fraudsters are taking clips from Ripple’s past events, replacing some parts with different words, then compiling these edited clips into YouTube videos.

Ripple previously took YouTube to court due to a high number of cryptocurrency scams on their platform. It’s uncertain whether they plan to engage in another legal dispute with YouTube now.

Following the near-conclusion of the Ripple vs SEC lawsuit (with a possible appeal by the SEC), there’s been an uptick in fraudulent activities involving XRP. Although the company has received court clarification that XRP is not classified as a security, it still owes a fine amounting to $125 million.

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2024-09-20 14:07