- Eric Conseil Jr. was charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated identification theft and system entry fraud
- In January, the SEC's X account was hacked with a message claiming that the company had permitted the primary Bitcoin ETF.
- A day later, the SEC permitted the primary Bitcoin ETFs
A 25-year-old man from Athens, Alabama, has been arrested by the FBI for allegedly hacking into the U.S. Securities and Trade Fee's (SEC) X account.
In accordance with an announcement from the U.S. Lawyer's Workplace for the District of Columbia, Eric Council Jr. is accused of being a part of a bunch that falsely posted a message to SEC Account Bitcoin trade (ETF). .
Council was charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated identification theft and entry system fraud.
On behalf of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, the group issued a message on January 9 stating:
“At the moment, the SEC approves the itemizing of #Bitcoin ETFs on all registered nationwide securities exchanges.”
Shortly after the tweet was posted, the value of Bitcoin elevated by $1,000.
Realizing that the SEC account had been compromised, Gensler was fast to disclaim the information, saying the company had not “permitted the itemizing.” Following this information, the value of Bitcoin fell by $2,000.
THE @SECGov The Twitter account was compromised and an unauthorized tweet was posted. The SEC has not permitted the itemizing and buying and selling of Bitcoin spot exchange-traded merchandise.
–Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) January 9, 2024
Notably, a day later, the SEC permitted the primary Bitcoin ETF.
SIM card trade
Authorities say the Board used a “SIM card swapping” method to achieve management of the SEC account.
Nicole Argentieri, deputy assistant legal professional common for the Justice Division's felony division, stated the Board allegedly “accessed the SEC account on X utilizing the stolen identification of a person who had entry to the account to take over his cellphone quantity.
“These SIM swapping schemes, wherein fraudsters trick service suppliers into giving them management of unsuspecting victims' telephones, can result in devastating monetary losses for victims and leaks of delicate private and personal info ” stated U.S. Lawyer Matthew Graves.
In accordance with the discharge, the Council, which additionally glided by the names “Ronin”, “Easymunny” and “AGiantSchnauzer”, was allegedly supplied with the sufferer's title and picture in addition to a template containing the sufferer's particulars from the co-conspirators. He then used this info to create a pretend ID card.
Council then traveled to Huntsville, Alabama to get a brand new SIM card linked to the sufferer's telephone and bought a brand new iPhone with money. With each, he obtained entry codes to the SEC's X account. These codes have been shared with the co-conspirators who posted the pretend tweet.
The Council reportedly acquired a fee in Bitcoin for finishing the SIM swap. He then drove to Birmingham, Alabama to return the iPhone for money. Conscious of his actions, the FBI stated the Board performed Web searches, together with “what are the indicators that you’re underneath investigation by legislation enforcement?” »
