SIM scammer who helped hijack SEC X account put behind bars • The Register

An Alabama man who SIM-swapped his means into the SEC’s official X account, enabling a pretend ETF announcement that briefly pumped Bitcoin, has been sentenced to 14 months in jail and three years of supervised launch.

Previous to his conviction and sentencing on Friday, Eric Council Jr., 26, of Huntsville, Alabama, proved as soon as once more that cybercriminals are very unhealthy at web search hygiene.

Council used his private pc to go looking “SECGOV hack,” “telegram sim swap,” “how can I do know for positive if I’m being investigated by the FBI,” “Federal identification theft statute,” and different incriminating phrases, in keeping with court docket paperwork [PDF].

The 26-year-old pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to commit aggravated identification theft and entry machine fraud after he and others took over the SEC’s X account in January 2024. The crew used the compromised account to submit a message that purported to come back from then-SEC chair Gary Gensler and falsely introduced that the federal government had accredited Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Based on the DOJ, the hoax message triggered a bounce of greater than $1,000 in Bitcoin’s worth. After the federal regulator regained management of the compromised account and posted a retraction, the worth dropped by over $2,000.

Council and his co-conspirator compromised the social media account through SIM-swapping somebody who had entry to the SEC’s X account. SIM swapping is a rip-off the place crooks trick a cellular service into transferring a sufferer’s quantity to a SIM they management, letting them hijack calls, texts, and login codes. The court docket paperwork establish the sufferer as “C.L.,” and element how Council tricked an worker at an AT&T retailer in Huntsville. 

In early January 2024, Council obtained the sufferer C.L.’s private info from co-conspirators and used it to create a pretend ID with the assistance of an ID card printer.

He confirmed an in-store AT&T worker the phony ID, advised the employee that he was an FBI worker who had damaged his cellphone and wanted a brand new SIM card, after which obtained a brand new SIM card linked to C.L.’s account.

Council then visited a close-by Apple retailer, purchased an iPhone, and put the C.L. SIM card into this new cell phone to obtain two-factor safety reset codes related to the @SECGov X account.

He shared the reset code along with his co-conspirator, who used it to entry the SEC’s X account and submit a false announcement concerning the approval of Bitcoin ETFs. Following this, Council returned the iPhone for a money refund.

“The deliberate takeover of a federal company’s official communications platform was a calculated prison act meant to deceive the general public and manipulate monetary markets,” mentioned FBI Prison Investigative Division Appearing Assistant Director Darren Cox in a statement after the sentencing.

“By spreading false info to affect the markets, Council tried to erode public belief and exploit the monetary system,” he continued. “In the present day’s sentencing makes clear that anybody who abuses public platforms for prison acquire can be held accountable.” ®