FBI arrests man within the help of SEC twitter hack posting fraudulent Bitcoin ETF approval

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Oeisdigitalinvestigator.com: Bitcoin’s label fluctuated wildly after SEC epic hack.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on the new time launched the arrest of Eric Council Jr., an Alabama man linked to a January 2024 unauthorized takeover of the US SEC’s X (beforehand is named Twitter) epic. The hack resulted in a fraudulent announcement about residing Bitcoin ETFs, inflicting important market disruption.

The FBI said that Council aged a SIM swap tactic to reach alter of the SEC’s X epic and posted a fraudulent message claiming the SEC had authorized Bitcoin ETFs. The fraudulent announcement introduced about Bitcoin’s label to surge by $1,000, handiest to descend by over $2,000 after the SEC corrected the misinformation.

The @SECGov twitter epic became compromised, and an unauthorized tweet became posted. The SEC has not authorized the checklist and trading of residing bitcoin alternate-traded merchandise.

— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) January 9, 2024

How did it happen?

In step with the FBI, to produce the SIM swap plot, Council and his co-conspirators obtained non-public identifying files (PII) and an identification card template belonging to a victim. The use of this files, Council created a fraudulent ID and introduced it to a cellular phone supplier retailer in Huntsville, Alabama. This allowed him to manufacture a original SIM card linked to the victim’s phone amount.

With the SIM card in hand, he bought a original iPhone and aged it to entry the victim’s phone epic. He then obtained the entry codes indispensable to log into the “@SECGov” epic. Once he had alter of the epic, Council shared the entry codes along with his co-conspirators, who then posted the fraudulent message.

For his characteristic within the hack, Council bought price in Bitcoin. After the assault, he drove to Birmingham, Alabama, to get rid of the iPhone he had aged to entry the SEC epic.

Council then performed web searches for terms equivalent to “SECGOV hack,” “telegram sim swap,” “how can I know useless to claim if I am being investigated by the FBI,” and “What are the signs that you’re below investigation by law enforcement or the FBI even for those that might per chance moreover haven’t been contacted by them.”

Council faces prices of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and entry machine fraud, along with his initial court appearance scheduled for on the new time within the Northern District of Alabama.

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