Several popular Filipino musicians’ YouTube accounts have been hacked and are now promoting an XRP scam. On July 15, accounts belonging to famous musicians, including the band Ben&Ben, boyband SB19, and musician Rico Blanco, were seen broadcasting a deepfake video of Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. This video falsely predicted that XRP might reach $4, directing viewers to phishing websites to access their funds.
Hack Targets Popular Musicians
Ben&Ben, a nine-piece pop band with over 3 million followers on YouTube, was one of the victims. The band announced the hack on their official Facebook page, stating that their account had been compromised and that their team was working to recover it. During the recovery process, the account live-streamed a common XRP scam. Although the band managed to regain partial control of their account, the fraudulent livestream continued for some time. As of now, the XRP scam livestream has ceased.
Ben&Ben account seen promoting XRP scam. Source: YouTube
Similarly, Filipino boyband SB19, with 3.6 million followers on YouTube, also fell victim to the hack. However, their management quickly recovered the account and reported the incident to the relevant authorities.
Musician Rico Blanco’s YouTube account, with over 700,000 followers, was also compromised. While there has been no official statement from the artist, Reddit users flagged the hack. The account is currently blocked on YouTube for violating the platform’s guidelines.
Deepfake XRP Scam
The deepfake video featuring Ripple’s Garlinghouse has been a recurring tactic used by scammers on YouTube. In December 2023, Reddit users reported a fraudulent video of Garlinghouse asking XRP holders to send their coins to a specific address, promising to send back double the amount — a common scheme used by crypto fraudsters. These fraudulent advertisements were reported to Google, but the issue persists.
Conclusion
The recent hacks of Filipino musicians’ YouTube accounts highlight the ongoing issue of cryptocurrency scams and the need for increased vigilance and security measures. Fans and followers are advised to be cautious and verify the authenticity of livestreams and advertisements to avoid falling victim to such scams.
