Illinois Man Sentenced to Over 6 Years for Hacking Hundreds of Women’s Snapchat Accounts via Phishing to Steal Women’s Pictures
Published
Key Takeaways
- Sentence handed down: Kyle Svara, 27, received 76 months in prison for hacking hundreds of women's Snapchat accounts.
- Scheme scale: He targeted more than 1,500 women, accessed 517 accounts, and stole photos from 59 victims.
- Guilty plea: Svara admitted to computer fraud, aggravated identity theft, and a false statement charge.
An Illinois man was sentenced Tuesday to 76 months in prison after admitting he hacked the Snapchat accounts of hundreds of women to steal nude or semi-nude photos, which he then kept, sold, or traded online. Kyle Svara, 27, received a 76-month term from U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston.
A spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Leah Foley, whose office prosecuted the case, confirmed the sentence. His attorneys said in court papers that Svara felt "profound remorse and shame for his actions," which occurred during a period of isolation as a University of Illinois student during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Phishing Scheme Targeted Women’s Accounts
Court documents said Svara leveraged social engineering from May 2020 to February 2021, to harvest personal identifiers, including email addresses, phone numbers, and/or Snapchat usernames.
The individual used anonymized, internet-based phone numbers via the free Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) TextNow service to send more than 4,500 text messages posing as the support team for the Snap-operated platform.
He targeted more than 1,500 women, according to Reuters, and tricked 571 women into responding with security codes that granted account access. He accessed their Snapchat accounts and downloaded nude or semi-nude photos from at least 59 of them.
Connection to Northeastern Coach Steve Waithe
Svara advertised his hacking services online, leading former Northeastern University track-and-field coach Steve Waithe to pay him $50 to breach the accounts of women, including student athletes Waithe had coached. Waithe was sentenced in 2024 to five years in prison for schemes that victimized women.
Beyond the Waithe connection, Svara also targeted women who lived in or around Plainfield, Illinois, and students at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.
Svara pleaded guilty in February to computer fraud and aggravated identity theft charges, as well as making a false statement to law enforcement about his interest in child sexual abuse material (CSAM), which was found on his online accounts.
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