Spam on the XRP Ledger
Understanding SPAM
What is spam?
A spam transaction is any unwanted or unsolicited transaction that gets sent out in bulk across the XRP Ledger (XRPL). Here is how spam transactions look in Xaman:
Is spam dangerous?
The spam transactions themselves are not dangerous. The majority of spam falls into one of these categories:
a marketing ploy to try to get you to participate in their project
a scam trying to get you to visit a website
a scam trying to get you contact them for "help"
an empty transaction designed to clog the network
For example:
If you were to follow the instructions in the Memo field, you would certainly be scammed.
Can they access my account in any way?
Absolutely not. No one can access your XRPL account unless they know your account secret. (Secret numbers / Family seed / Mnemonic) As long as you keep your account secret safe and secure, your funds are safe. The only way someone can access your XRPL account is if they learn your account secret. See this article for more information:
Do these spam transactions cost me XRP?
No. Each transaction costs the sender XRP to send them. The sender pays the XRPL transaction fees, not you.
What can I do about spam on the XRPL?
Beginning in Xaman v3.3.1, we included a way to block out spam transactions from the Events list.
(Go to Settings -> General -> Transactions & Events)
Some people who receive spam, take it upon themselves to contact the sender and explain (often in very strong language) spamming a public network is… unwanted and undesirable.
Others take to social media to condemn the senders and warn others about them.
Most people simply ignore the transactions. We advise you to do this as well.
Can I delete the spam transactions from my account?
No. All transactions on the XRP Ledger are permanent. (including spam transactions.) Nobody can delete a transaction from the XRP Ledger. If a transaction exists on the XRPL, Xaman will display it.
What can I do about spam on the XRPL?
Some people who receive spam, take it upon themselves to contact the scam token issuers and explain (often in very strong language) spamming a public network is… unwanted and undesirable.
Others take to social media to condemn the token issuers and warn others not to participate.
Most people simply ignore the transactions. We advise you to do this as well.
Should I return the tokens to them?
That is completely up to you. These spammers want to get some sort of reply from you. That way they know you are reading their messages. Once you reply, it is possible that they will send you targeted messages. There is no telling what their intentions are. We recommend that you ignore them.
If I return it will I be charged a transaction fee?
Yes. The XRPL automatically charges transaction fees in order to process transactions. It will cost you XRP to send the tokens back to them.
I clicked the transaction to view it, am I in any danger?
No. Reviewing a transaction on the XRPL is not dangerous. The only way someone can access your XRPL account is if they get access to your account secret. See this article for more information:
I don't even know them! How did they get my r-address? I’ve been very careful who I’ve interacted with in the XRP community…
The XRP Ledger is a public blockchain. There are many ways to get a list of random r-addresses. If you have created a Trust Line or sent funds to/from a crypto exchange, or participated in an airdrop, or even if you activated an account, your r-address can be filtered and obtained.
Here is an example:
In this case, a person has just activated their account and suddenly they received a spam transaction advertising a website.
Legitimate projects do not send unsolicited transactions across public networks.
There is currently no way of preventing this from happening on the XRP Ledger.
How does Xaman handle spam?
We have numerous ways of identifying spam on the XRPL. When we find accounts that appear to be sending spam, we analyze the history of the account, immediately suppress the memo field and add a notification indicating the transaction may be dangerous. As well, for our Xaman Pro users, the push notifications are suppressed so you are not notified when the spam transactions arrives in your account.
Is there any solution to this problem?
Actually there is. It is called the Xahau network and you can easily interact with the Xahau network using Xaman.
The Xahau network is an XRP Ledger protocol side chain that has all of the same features as the XRP Ledger but it includes additional features like a spam filter. Once the Spam filter is installed on your account, spam transactions are stopped before they even get to your account.
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