- Eric Council Jr. has been charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated id theft and entry machine fraud
- In January, the SEC’s X account was hacked with a submit claiming that the company had accredited the primary Bitcoin ETF
- A day later, the SEC accredited the primary Bitcoin ETFs
A 25-year-old man from Athens, Alabama has been arrested by the FBI for allegedly hacking the US Securities and Trade Fee’s (SEC) X account.
Based on an announcement from the US Legal professional’s Workplace, District of Columbia, Eric Council Jr. is accused of being a part of a bunch that falsely posted a message on the SEC’s X account claiming they’d accredited the primary Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Council has been charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated id theft and entry machine fraud.
Within the identify of Gary Gensler, the SEC’s Chair, the group posted a message on January 9 stating:
“Today the SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges.”
Shortly after the tweet was posted, the value of Bitcoin rose by $1,000.
Realizing the SEC account had been compromised, Gensler was fast to disclaim the information, saying that the company hadn’t “approved the listing.” Following that information, the value of Bitcoin dropped by $2,000.
The @SECGov twitter account was compromised, and an unauthorized tweet was posted. The SEC has not accredited the itemizing and buying and selling of spot bitcoin exchange-traded merchandise.
— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) January 9, 2024
Notably, a day later, the SEC accredited the primary Bitcoin ETF.
SIM swapping
Authorities state that Council used a “SIM swapping” method to realize management of the SEC’s account.
Nicole Argentieri, Principal Deputy Assistant Legal professional Normal of the Justice Division’s Prison Division, stated that Council allegedly “accessed the SEC’s account on X by using the stolen identity of a person who had access to the account to take over their cellphone number.”
“These SIM swapping schemes, where fraudsters trick service providers into giving them control of unsuspecting victims’ phones, can result in devastating financial losses to victims and leaks of sensitive personal and private information,” stated United States Legal professional Matthew Graves.
Based on the assertion, Council, who additionally glided by the names “Ronin,” “Easymunny,” and “AGiantSchnauzer,” is claimed to have obtained the sufferer’s identify and photograph and a template containing the sufferer’s particulars from co-conspirators. He then used this info to create a pretend ID.
Council then traveled to Huntsville, Alabama to acquire a brand new SIM card linked to the sufferer’s cellphone and acquired a brand new iPhone in money. With the 2, he obtained entry codes to the SEC’s X account. These codes had been shared with the co-conspirators who issued the pretend tweet.
Council is claimed to have obtained cost in Bitcoin for finishing the SIM swap. He then drove to Birmingham, Alabama to return the iPhone for money. Acutely aware of his actions, the FBI stated that Council carried out web searches, together with “what are the signs that you are under investigation by law enforcement?”