### Alabama Man Arrested for Role in Fake SEC Bitcoin Post

A resident from Athens, Alabama has been implicated in a fraudulent post on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) account on X, which led to an artificial surge in bitcoin's price earlier this year. On Thursday, Eric Council Jr., aged 25, was taken into custody for his alleged involvement in the hacking scheme, which falsely announced the SEC's approval of bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

According to the Justice Department, on January 9th, a fake post on the SEC's X account claimed that bitcoin ETFs had been approved for listing on all registered national securities exchanges. This bogus announcement caused the price of bitcoin to briefly soar by more than $1,000. However, SEC Chair Gary Gensler quickly refuted the claim, clarifying that no such approval had been granted at that time. The SEC actually approved the bitcoin ETFs the following day, but the damage from the fake post had already occurred, with bitcoin's price eventually plummeting by $2,000 upon the revelation of the false information.

The DOJ's investigation revealed that Council's role involved executing a "SIM swap" technique. He allegedly used a counterfeit ID to deceive a cellphone provider employee in Huntsville into giving him a SIM card linked to the legitimate owner's phone number. Council is said to have paid cash for a new iPhone and used the obtained SIM card to hijack the account holder’s information, which allowed him to access the sensitive SEC account codes. These codes were then handed over to his hacker associates, who used them to post the fake announcement.

Interestingly, Council appeared to be conscious of the potential legal repercussions. After returning the iPhone, he conducted internet searches on how to determine if one is under investigation by law enforcement or the FBI, indicating a concern about being traced for his actions.

Facing serious charges including conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud, Council could face up to five years in prison if convicted.