• eric council jr. He’s charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated id theft and entry machine fraud.
• In January, the SEC's X account was hacked and a put up was posted claiming that the SEC had permitted the primary Bitcoin ETF.
• The subsequent day, the SEC permitted the primary Bitcoin ETF

A 25-year-old man from Athens, Alabama, was arrested by the FBI on suspicion of hacking into the U.S. Securities and Trade Fee's (SEC) X account.

Based on a press release from the U.S. Legal professional's Workplace for the District of Columbia, Eric Council Jr. is accused of being a part of a bunch that falsely posted messages to the SEC's are. .

The council is charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated id theft and entry machine fraud.

On January 9, the group posted the next message within the identify of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler:

“At the moment, the SEC granted approval to listing #Bitcoin ETFs on all registered nationwide securities exchanges.”

Shortly after this tweet was posted, the value of Bitcoin elevated by $1,000.

Gensler, who found his SEC account had been compromised, shortly denied the information, saying the SEC had not “permitted the itemizing.” Following this information, the value of Bitcoin fell by $2,000.

of @SECGov A Twitter account has been compromised and fraudulent tweets have been posted. The SEC has not permitted the itemizing and buying and selling of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded merchandise.

— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) January 9, 2024

Notably, the very subsequent day, the SEC permitted the primary Bitcoin ETF.

SIM alternate

Authorities say the council used “SIM swapping” methods to take management of the SEC's accounts.

Nicole Argentieri, principal deputy assistant legal professional common within the Justice Division's Prison Division, stated the council “accessed X's SEC account utilizing the stolen id of an individual who had entry to the account to take over his cellular phone quantity.” He stated that it could be thought of.

“These SIM swapping schemes, during which fraudsters trick service suppliers into giving them management of unsuspecting victims’ cellphones, inflict devastating monetary losses on victims and compromise delicate private data. “This might end result within the disclosure of data and private data,” stated U.S. Legal professional Matthew Graves.

Based on the assertion, the council, which additionally operated beneath the names “Ronin,” “Easymunny” and “AGiantSchnauzer,” allegedly obtained from the co-conspirators a template with the sufferer's identify and photograph, in addition to the sufferer's particulars. There may be. He then used this data to create a faux ID.

The council then traveled to Huntsville, Alabama, to acquire a brand new SIM card linked to the sufferer's cellular phone and buy a brand new iPhone for money. Utilizing these two, he obtained the entry code to the SEC's X account. These codes had been shared with co-conspirators who issued faux tweets.

The council is claimed to have obtained fee in Bitcoin to finish the SIM swap. He then drove to Birmingham, Alabama to return the iPhone and get money. The FBI stated that, conscious of his actions, the council performed web searches similar to “What are the indicators that you’re beneath investigation by legislation enforcement?”