Why are there strange tokens, airdrops or messages in my XRP wallet, and should I claim them?

The full answer

Where do unfamiliar tokens and airdrops in an XRP wallet come from?

XRP has no issuer, while every token on the XRP Ledger is issued by an XRP Ledger account. That is how XRPL.org’s currency-format reference read on September 29, 2026 [1]. The ledger’s token documentation adds that all assets other than XRP are represented as tokens, and that no new XRP can be minted [2]. A token with an unfamiliar name therefore traces back to a ledger account that created it. It isn’t a form of XRP.

Addresses are not secret. XRPL.org lists the public key, account ID and address as public information [3]. It also notes that all XRP Ledger transactions are public [4].

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) described the airdrop pattern in a notice dated June 3, 2025. It defines an airdrop as a campaign that some companies or people run when launching a token, giving away an amount of it to a select group of people to gain popularity [5]. To receive one, IC3 says, a user may need to hold a specific token, belong to a community, or “simply own a non-custodial wallet” [5].

What is the memo or message that comes with an airdrop?

The same IC3 notice says that when a user receives unsolicited or promotional tokens in a non-custodial wallet as part of an airdrop, a plaintext “memo” section appears [5]. IC3 says the memo may be used to give extra context about the transaction, including a reference number [5].

Is an unfamiliar token a sign of a scam?

Ripple’s guide to spotting crypto scams lists “unfamiliar crypto assets or other digital tokens” appearing in a wallet among its warning signs. That was the guide’s wording on September 29, 2026 [6]. The same list includes fake testimonials and social media posts with comments restricted or turned off [6]. Ripple says its chief executive, Brad Garlinghouse, is increasingly used in deepfakes and other scams promising free XRP giveaways, and that Ripple will never ask anyone to send it XRP [6]. In the giveaway scams it describes, victims are asked to send funds in order to receive more funds back [6].

Fake tokens also copy real ones. On April 26, 2024, the FBI’s Denver field office warned that criminals create tokens impersonating well-known ones such as Tether (USDT) and other stablecoins [7]. The office said these tokens arrive from addresses closely resembling ones the victim has used before. Because wallet software shortens addresses, the first and last characters can match while the middle differs, and the office’s advice was to check the entire address before sending [7]. The page on what address poisoning is and how it works covers that attack in full.

What do the FTC and Ripple say about claiming free tokens?

The FTC’s consumer page on crypto scams, as it read on September 29, 2026, says free money promises “are always fake” [8]. It says only scammers demand payment in cryptocurrency, and that no legitimate business demands crypto in advance [8]. Describing celebrity scams, the FTC says that clicking an unexpected link, or sending crypto to a so-called celebrity’s QR code, sends the money straight to a scammer [8]. Ripple says real sweepstakes should be free and urges caution with any promotion that asks for funds or account information upfront [6]. It also suggests confirming a promotion on the sponsoring company’s own website and verified social media channels [6].

The ledger’s own documentation shows why a claim step that asks for secrets matters so much. XRPL.org says digital signatures are the only way to authorize XRP Ledger transactions, and no administrator can undo a transaction once it has applied [3]. Anyone who knows an account’s seed or private key can sign any transaction the owner could [3]. XRPL.org’s secure-signing page warns that any setup letting outside sources reach a secret key is likely to result in a malicious user stealing all the XRP in the address [9]. What a harmful request looks like on screen is set out in malicious signing requests and wallet drainers.

Can an unknown token tie up XRP or be frozen by its issuer?

XRPL.org lists trust lines, NFT offers, offers and deposit preauthorizations among the objects that count toward an account’s reserve [10]. On September 29, 2026 the Mainnet reserve stood at 1 XRP per address plus 0.2 XRP per item [10]. Reserved XRP cannot be sent, though some of it can be recovered by deleting the account [10]. XRPL.org says the reserve exists to protect the shared ledger from growing excessively large through spam or malicious use [10]. How the XRP reserve works and how to recover it is explained on its own page.

Issuers hold powers over their tokens that no one holds over XRP. XRPL.org says issuers can freeze the tokens they issue and that no one can freeze XRP on the ledger [11]. Clawback can reclaim issued tokens only if the issuer enabled it in advance [11]. The page on trust lines and how to check a token is genuine covers how to look up who issued a token, and whether XRP can be frozen or clawed back covers the XRP side.

Can a holder stop unwanted transfers from arriving?

XRPL.org describes Deposit Authorization as an optional account setting. When it is on, it blocks all transfers from strangers, including XRP and tokens [12]. An account with the setting receives value only from accounts it has preauthorized, or by sending its own transaction to collect the funds [12]. Each sender is preauthorized with a DepositPreauth transaction [12], and deposit preauthorizations count toward the reserve [10].

Are some airdrops genuine?

Not every airdrop is treated as fraud in the sources. IC3’s June 3, 2025 notice defines an airdrop as a campaign that some companies or people run when launching a token [5]. Ripple’s guidance says real sweepstakes should be free, which assumes genuine ones exist [6]. The FTC’s line that free money promises are always fake sits in its description of scam pitches [8]. The tax treatment of tokens a holder does accept is covered in how XRP yield and airdrops are taxed.

Where can a suspicious airdrop be reported?

Ripple’s suggested steps include telling the exchange, custodian or wallet provider, filing a complaint with IC3 or the FTC, and reporting social media promotions to the platform [6]. The FTC’s own list adds the CFTC at CFTC.gov/complaint, the SEC at sec.gov/tcr, and the exchange used to send the money [8]. Ripple says it cannot stop or alter XRP Ledger transactions and that recovering assets after a scam is very difficult [6].