Key facts
- Kyle Svara was sentenced to 76 months in prison for hacking Snapchat accounts.
- He admitted to hacking hundreds of women's accounts to steal nude or semi-nude photos.
- Svara used phishing text messages to obtain security codes to access accounts.
- He accessed at least 517 women's accounts and downloaded explicit images from at least 59.
- Svara also sold or traded the stolen photos online and advertised his hacking services.
- He was prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Leah Foley's office.
An Illinois man, Kyle Svara, 27, has been sentenced to 76 months in prison for hacking into the Snapchat accounts of hundreds of women to steal nude or semi-nude photos. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston handed down the sentence after Svara pleaded guilty to computer fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.
Prosecutors stated that from May 2020 to February 2021, Svara used anonymized phone numbers to send phishing text messages to over 1,500 women, posing as Snapchat support. Hundreds of recipients provided security codes, allowing Svara to access at least 517 accounts. He downloaded explicit images from at least 59 women, which he then kept, sold, or traded online. Svara also advertised his hacking services, including being paid $50 by former Northeastern University coach Steve Waithe to hack accounts of women, some of whom Waithe coached.
Waithe was previously sentenced to five years in prison for schemes involving duping or stealing nude photos from at least 56 women. Svara's attorneys indicated he has expressed remorse, attributing his actions to a period of isolation during the COVID-19 lockdown while he was a student at the University of Illinois. He also pleaded guilty to making a false statement to law enforcement regarding child pornography found on his online accounts.