In Alabama, a man named Eric Council Jr. was recently arrested for his role in a hacking scheme that sent the bitcoin market into a rollercoaster ride. The Justice Department revealed that Council and his accomplices hacked into the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) account on the X platform in January. They did this by tricking a cell phone carrier into transferring the victim's phone number to their own SIM card, a sneaky trick known as a SIM swap.

Once they had control of the SEC's account, they cooked up a fake announcement saying that the SEC had given the green light to bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This news caused bitcoin prices to skyrocket by $1, 000. However, theSEC quickly regained control of their account and the truth came out, sending bitcoin prices crashing down by $2, 000.

Council and his crew are now in hot water. They've been charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. If found guilty, Council could spend up to five years behind bars.

Hacking into important accounts like the SEC's can have big impacts on the market. It's important to think about how our online information can be used and protected.

Alabama Hacker Played Bitcoin Market with Fake SEC News

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