The FBI arrested the man it says hacked the SEC’s Twitter and sent bitcoin soaring

The FBI arrested the man it believes hacked and posted from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s X (formerly Twitter) account in January and sent the price of bitcoin soaring.

Eric Council Jr., a 25-year-old Alabama resident, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud, the FBI said Thursday.

On Jan. 9, Council and others conspired to hack into the @SECGov X account and made a post posing as SEC Chair Gary Gensler. It read: “Today the SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges.”

The price of bitcoin spiked more than $1,000 apiece following the post, according to the indictment. After the SEC regained control of its account and issued a statement clarifying that the post was a result of a breach, the price of bitcoin plummeted by more than $2,000.

At the time, cryptocurrency investors had been closely watching for the regulator’s approval of Bitcoin ETFs, which would allow bitcoin-related assets to be traded as exchange-traded funds. The SEC issued its official approval of the bitcoin products the following day.

According to the charges, the SEC and X confirmed that the hack was carried out using a method known as “SIM swapping.” That’s when a fraudster impersonates someone else to a cellular carrier and obtains their SIM details, including their phone number.

Council received other personal identifying information to make a fake ID, which he used to obtain a SIM card linked to the victim’s phone line, the indictment alleges. He then bought a new iPhone with cash and obtained access codes to the @SECGov X account, which he allegedly shared with co-conspirators to gain access to the account.

After issuing the fake post, Council allegedly received payment in bitcoin before returning the iPhone. He later conducted internet searches for “SECGOV hack,” “telegram sim swap,” “how can I know for sure if I am being investigated by the FBI,” and “What are the signs that you are under investigation by law enforcement or the FBI even if you have not been contacted by them,” the agency said.

“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,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves. “Here, the conspirators allegedly used their illegal access to a phone to manipulate financial markets.”

Council will make his first court appearance on Thursday in the Northern District of Alabama.