Hacker Earns $50,000 From SIM Swaps, Causes Bitcoin Price Surge

Coin WorldTuesday, May 13, 2025 12:56 am ET
1min read

Eric Council Jr., a hacker involved in a SIM swap attack that compromised the Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account, has been found to have made $50,000 from similar activities. Recent filings reveal that Council, who was part of the hack that led to a false announcement about a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, had also searched online about how to determine if he was being investigated by the FBI.

Prosecutors have requested a two-year prison sentence for Council, citing his role in the hack that caused significant market disruption. The false announcement, which was posted on the SEC’s X account, led to a temporary surge in Bitcoin’s price before it plummeted, resulting in substantial financial losses for market participants.

Council’s online searches, discovered during a search warrant executed on his house, car, and devices, included queries 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 setting his Telegram chats to delete after two weeks, prosecutors were able to recover conversations where Council discussed SIM swaps with individuals believed to be overseas.

Council admitted to law enforcement that he earned around $50,000 from performing SIM swaps for clients between January and June 2024. He advertised his services on Telegram under the username easymunny, offering to perform SIM swaps for payments ranging from $1,200 to $1,500.

Council executed the SIM swap by creating fake identity documents to impersonate someone with access to the SEC’s X account. These documents were used to trick an AT&T staff member into reassigning the victim’s phone number to Council’s SIM card. He then purchased a new iPhone, inserted the new SIM, and shared the access codes with his co-conspirators, who posted the fake news about the spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Council received payment for the SEC SIM swap in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. However, his luck ran out when surveillance agents observed him attempting another SIM swap at an Apple store. Law enforcement executed a search warrant six days later, recovering evidence including templates for fake identification cards on his laptop.

Council pleaded guilty on February 10, after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging him with Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Identity Theft and Access Device Fraud. The fake post accumulated over 1 million views before the SEC confirmed it had been hacked roughly 15 minutes later. The security team at X confirmed that the SEC’s X account did not have two-factor authentication installed at the time of the incident, which was erroneously removed by X Support following a request by an SEC staff member.