Ireland Police X Accounts Used to Promote Crypto and XRP Claim

Several X accounts operated by Ireland’s national police appeared to have been hijacked on Oct. 14 and used to spread cryptocurrency promotions, including a phishing lure tied to XRP.

The affected profiles included GardaTraffic, the force’s traffic safety account, and GardaInfo, a general public information account. GardaTraffic had about 600,000 followers, while GardaInfo had nearly 300,000.

Both accounts’ official police insignia were removed, and their profile locations were changed to Amsterdam, Netherlands. The posts promoted digital assets and included a message urging users to claim an XRP allocation.

Some of the posts were marked with warnings on X. An Garda Síochána, Ireland’s national police service, acknowledged the security incident and said it would publish an official investigation statement later.

The accounts normally serve public information roles, covering traffic safety and broader government information. Their use for a crypto claim put a phishing promotion in front of followers of official police profiles.