Eric Council Jr., a notorious SIM swap hacker, has recently been in the spotlight for his involvement in compromising the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) X account last year. Court filings reveal that Council made $50,000 from carrying out similar attacks, and even went as far as searching online for ways to determine if the FBI was investigating him.

The prosecution has requested a two-year prison sentence for Council for his role in the hack that resulted in false information being published on the SEC’s X account, claiming that a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund had been approved. This misinformation caused significant market turmoil.

During a search of Council’s residence, car, and electronic devices in June last year, US prosecutors discovered incriminating searches such as “How can I know for sure if I am being investigated by the FBI” and “How long does it take to delete Telegram account.” Despite Council’s attempts to delete his Telegram chats after two weeks, authorities were able to recover conversations where Council discussed SIM swaps with individuals believed to be located overseas.

Council confessed to law enforcement that he received payments totaling $50,000 for carrying out SIM swaps for clients between January and June 2024. Operating under the username "easymunny" on Telegram, Council offered his services for fees ranging from $1,200 to $1,500, portraying himself as a SIM swapping expert.

The hack orchestrated by Eric Council Jr. involved creating fake identity documents to impersonate an individual with access to the SEC’s X account. By convincing an AT&T staff member to transfer the victim’s phone number to Council’s SIM card, he gained access to sensitive information. Subsequently, Council shared access codes to the X account with his accomplices, who then published the false news about the Bitcoin ETF approval.

Council received payment in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for his illicit activities. However, his criminal activities came to light when he was observed attempting another SIM swap at an Apple store in June 2024. Law enforcement conducted a search of his belongings shortly after, recovering evidence such as templates for fake identification cards on his laptop.

In February, Council pleaded guilty to charges of Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Identity Theft and Access Device Fraud. The repercussions of the false announcement on the SEC’s X account were significant, causing fluctuations in Bitcoin's price and wiping out substantial market positions. The incident highlighted the importance of robust security measures, with the SEC acknowledging the absence of two-factor authentication on the X account at the time of the hack

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/sec-sim-swapper-googled-if-fbi-was-investigating-him?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound