The SIM-swapper who managed to hack the official X account of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has received a 14-month jail sentence, according to a Fridayreport by The Wall Street Journal.
Eric D. Council, a resident of Athens, Alabama, got access to the account in early January 2024 to falsely announce the approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and artificially pump the price of the leading cryptocurrency.
Council managed to pull off the audacious hack by obtaining the personal data of a person who had access to the X account of the regulatory agency and forged a fake ID.
With the help of the bogus ID, the hacker then convinced a mobile store employee to issue a new SIM card. This, in turn, allowed Council to bypass two-factor authentication (2FA).
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The fake ETF approval announcement resulted in a substantial Bitcoin price spike of more than $1,000. After it turned out that the message was fake, the largest cryptocurrency experienced a sharp drop.
Notably, Council was acting with co-conspirators. He received $50,000 for participating in the sophisticated scheme.
Council pleaded guilty in April after being hit with multiple charges, including wire fraud.
SIM swapping has been plaguing cryptocurrency holders for a long time. One of the most infamous cases involves prominent cryptocurrency investor Michael Terpin, who sued telecommunications giant AT&T after losing $24 million worth of crypto.
In 2020, UK resident Joseph James O’Connor famously pulled off the massive Twitter hack, which resulted in the accounts of various celebrities, including Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian, being compromised to promote a Bitcoin giveaway scam.
