FBI arrests US man over SEC crypto disinformation hack

A United States man was arrested after prosecutors accused him of being responsible for hacking the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) social media to publish a fake Bitcoin (BTC) spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval

The 25-year-old Alabama man Eric Council was charged with “conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud,” according to an Oct. 17 United States District of Columbia Attorney’s Office announcement.

Back in early January, the SEC’s X account was hacked to post a fake announcement for the approval of Bitcoin spot ETF’s — before those products were approved just days later. The SEC was quick to recover control over the account and rectify the fake announcement:

“The SEC X account was compromised, and an unauthorized post was posted. The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products.”

At the time, this predictably caused Bitcoin’s price to spike by about $1,000 — opening the door to market manipulation. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Argentieri explained that “Eric Council, Jr. unlawfully accessed the SEC’s account on X by using the stolen identity of a person who had access to the account to take over their cellphone number.” He added:

“Jr.’s co-conspirators then allegedly used this unauthorized access to the X account to falsely announce that the SEC had approved listing Bitcoin ETFs, which caused the price of Bitcoin to rise by $1,000 and then fall by $2,000.”

Council was also found to later search the web for “SECGOV hack,” “telegram sim swap,” “how can I know for sure if I am being investigated by the FBI.” Another search he made is “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 news follows a report released last month by the FBI showing that investors lost $5.6 billion to crypto-related financial crime last year.

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