Illinois Man Charged for Snapchat Social Engineering Scheme Exposing Intimate Images of Hundreds of Women
Published
Key Takeaways
- Federal Charges: Kyle Svara faces multiple charges for allegedly phishing Snapchat access codes from nearly 600 women.
- Targeted Demographics: Svara targeted women in Illinois, Colby College students, and athletes connected to a co-conspirator at Northeastern University.
- Co-conspirator Connection: Svara was allegedly hired by former Coach Steve Waithe to compromise the accounts of female student-athletes.
Federal authorities in Boston have charged Kyle Svara of Oswego, Illinois, in connection with a sophisticated Snapchat hacking investigation. The 26-year-old defendant is accused of orchestrating a widespread phishing campaign that compromised the private accounts of approximately 570 women.
Investigation Uncovers Snapchat Phishing Scheme
According to charging documents cited by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), Svara used social engineering tactics between May 2020 and February 2021 to harvest personal identifiers, including email addresses, phone numbers, and/or Snapchat usernames. He is charged with:
- Aggravated identity theft,
- Wire fraud,
- Computer fraud,
- Conspiracy to commit computer fraud,
- False statements related to child pornography.
He allegedly leveraged these details to trigger legitimate password reset protocols from Snap Inc. Subsequently, he posed as a support representative using anonymized phone numbers to text more than 4,500 victims and fraudulently obtain the security codes required for account takeover – approximately 570 women provided those codes.
The allegations outline a disturbing pattern of cybercrime targeting women, specifically focusing on obtaining non-consensual intimate imagery. Prosecutors allege that Svara successfully accessed at least 59 accounts without authorization, downloading nude or semi-nude content which he then traded or sold on internet forums to others who hired him.
Cybercrime Targeting Women and Athletes
A key component of the case involves Svara’s alleged collaboration with Steve Waithe, a former Track and Field Coach at Northeastern University. Waithe, who was convicted of wire fraud and cyberstalking in 2023 and sentenced to five years in prison, reportedly paid Svara to target female athletes he coached.
Beyond this specific group, the Illinois man charged also allegedly focused his efforts on women residing near Plainfield, Illinois, and students attending Colby College in Maine.
Legal Charges and Federal Implications
Svara is scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court in Boston on February 4, 2026. The Snapchat phishing scheme could result in significant penalties; the wire fraud charge alone carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
The FBI has urged potential victims to come forward via a dedicated online form as the investigation continues.
In other recent news, a free ‘ClickFix Hunter’ tool emerged, which tracks the growing social engineering epidemic.
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