The FBI has arrested an Alabama man who allegedly hacked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s X (formerly Twitter) account in order to post erroneous information about Bitcoin that briefly drove the price of the cryptocurrency up by $1,000.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia says Eric Council Jr. received personally identifying information and an ID template from co-conspirators that allowed him to make a fake ID card for someone with access to the SEC’s X account. He allegedly then used that ID card at a cell phone store in Huntsville, Alabama to obtain an iPhone with a SIM card linked to the victim’s phone number.
Using the spoofed phone, Council allegedly helped co-conspirators log in to the SEC’s X account, from which they posted a tweet falsely claiming that “Today the SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges.” In exchange for his help, Council allegedly received payment in Bitcoin.
The 25-year-old’s alleged actions in the days after the attack suggest he was not exactly a criminal mastermind. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Council conducted a series of suspicious internet searches, for phrases like “SECGOV hack,” “telegram swap,” “how can I know for sure if I am being investigated by the FBI,” and “What are the signs you are under investigation by law enforcement or the FBI even if you have not been contacted by them.”
The January 9 hack spiked the value of Bitcoin for a short time before SEC Chairman Gary Gensler posted from his own account that the information was false, after which the price of Bitcoin dropped by $2,000.
The very next day, the SEC officially approved 11 Bitcoin ETFs but bungled the announcement by posting and then deleting a document about the approval from its website, leading to questions about whether it was more fake news.
Council has been charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud and was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
“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,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves said in a statement. “Here, the conspirators allegedly used their illegal access to a phone to manipulate financial markets. Through indictments like this, we will hold accountable those who commit these serious crimes.”
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