South Korea Cracks Down on Fake XRP Staking Scam Netting $8.5M
South Korean authorities have arrested three individuals suspected of running a cryptocurrency investment scam that targeted 71 investors and stole approximately $8.5 million worth of XRP.
The scammers created a fake staking platform impersonating Flare Network's FXRP ecosystem, promising investors protection of their principal alongside fixed monthly returns of between 1.5% and 1.8% on deposited XRP.
Authorities said the operators promoted the platform through an extensive campaign that included fabricated Naver blog posts, online articles, Wikipedia pages, and YouTube videos featuring paid actors posing as successful investors.
The scheme appears to have exploited growing interest in Flare's legitimate FXRP project, which launched in September 2025.