[The Epoch Times, October 18, 2024](Epoch Times reporter Lin Yan reported) On Thursday (October 17), the FBI arrested an Alabama man, claiming that he was involved in the January Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) SEC) Social media account X was hacked.
According to court documents, around January 9, 25-year-old Eric Council Jr. conspired with others to transfer packages through a mobile phone without authorization, took control of SEC’s X account, and used SEC The approval of the Bitcoin exchange-traded fund was announced in advance on behalf of Chairman Gary Gensler.
When the fake announcement was made, the price of Bitcoin immediately jumped by over $1,000. Soon, the SEC regained control of the X account and confirmed that the announcement was released without authorization and that someone exploited the security loophole. Following the official official announcement, the price of Bitcoin fell by more than $2,000.
A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia indicted Council on October 10, charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. If convicted, Counsell faces up to five years in prison.
Court documents allege that Council engineered a swap of mobile phone SIM cards corresponding to the SEC’s X account.
As part of the scheme, Counsell and co-conspirators created a false identification document in the victim’s name, which he then used to impersonate the victim and apply to telecommunications providers requesting that the victim’s phone number be transferred from The other party’s SIM card is transferred to the SIM card in their hand. Immediately afterwards, they took over the victim’s mobile phone account and accessed the online social media account tied to the victim’s mobile phone number, with the purpose of accessing the SEC’s X account and publishing fraudulent posts in the name of the SEC Chairman.
Chief Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said Counsell attempted to take advantage of someone who had access to the SEC’s X account by stealing someone else’s cellphone number. identity to commit cybercrime.
“The prosecution of Council underscores the Criminal Division’s determination to combat cybercrime, especially when it threatens the integrity of financial markets,” she said.
Matthew Graves, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said, “SIM swapping schemes like these, in which scammers trick service providers into taking control of unsuspecting victims’ phones, can cause victims devastating financial losses and resulting in the disclosure of sensitive personal and private information.”
“These conspirators allegedly manipulated financial markets through illegal access to mobile phones. Through prosecution, we will hold those who commit these serious crimes accountable,” he added.
David Geist, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Criminal and Cyber Division of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, said, “SIM card swapping is a method used by criminals to illegally obtain sensitive information about individuals or companies with the intent to commit crimes. In this case, unauthorized actors allegedly used swapped SIM cards to manipulate global financial markets, and the FBI will continue to work tirelessly with law enforcement partners across the country and around the world to hold those who violate U.S. laws accountable.”
Event review
On the evening of January 9, a spokesperson for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stated that they had not approved a “spot Bitcoin ETF fund,” adding that their post on social media platform X was not true.
The spokesperson said the SEC’s X account was compromised, but did not provide further details.
In the afternoon of the same day, a post suddenly appeared on the SEC’s
January 10 is the deadline for the SEC to decide whether to approve a batch of ETF funds that track the price of Bitcoin. This will be a watershed moment for the crypto industry.
As of 4:11 p.m. ET on January 9, the post on the SEC’s X account had received at least 1 million views. But less than 20 minutes later, the post disappeared.
The fake post caused Bitcoin prices to surge to around $48,000 in the afternoon, before falling to below $45,000 minutes later.
At 4:42 p.m., the SEC’s X account published a message saying that the account had been previously compromised and unauthorized posts had been posted.
“The SEC has not yet approved the listing and trading of spot Bitcoin-related trading products,” the post read.
Editor in charge: Lin Yan#
