Story
Illinois Man Sentenced to Over 6 Years for Hacking Hundreds of Snapchat Accounts to Steal Photos
Summary
Kyle Svara, 27, received a 76-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to a large-scale phishing scheme that compromised over 500 women's Snapchat accounts to steal, sell, and trade explicit images.
An Illinois man has been sentenced to 76 months in federal prison for orchestrating a widespread phishing scheme that compromised the Snapchat accounts of hundreds of women to steal explicit photos. The sentence was handed down Tuesday in a Boston federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
Kyle Svara, 27, pleaded guilty in February to charges of computer fraud, aggravated identity theft, and making a false statement to law enforcement. The case highlights the significant legal consequences of cybercrimes involving personal data and privacy violations.
Details of the Phishing Scheme
According to prosecutors, Svara engaged in the scheme from May 2020 to February 2021. He used anonymized phone numbers to send phishing text messages to more than 1,500 women, impersonating the support team for Snap Inc.'s social media platform.
The messages tricked victims into providing security codes, which Svara then used to gain unauthorized access to their accounts. Prosecutors stated that he successfully hacked the accounts of at least 517 women and downloaded nude or semi-nude photos from the accounts of at least 59 victims. The stolen content was then kept for personal use, sold, or traded online.
AdConnection to University Coach Case
The investigation revealed that Svara advertised his illicit hacking services online. He was paid by Steve Waithe, a former track-and-field coach at Northeastern University, to hack the accounts of female student-athletes. Waithe was sentenced in 2024 to five years in prison for his own schemes to steal explicit images from young women.
In court filings, Svara's attorneys argued that his actions occurred during a period of isolation while he was a student at the University of Illinois during the COVID-19 lockdown, and that he felt "profound remorse and shame." The prosecution's case, however, detailed a deliberate and commercial criminal enterprise targeting a large number of victims.
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