- Kyle Svara, a 26-year-old man from Oswego, Illinois, has been charged in federal court in Boston for running a large-scale Snapchat hacking scheme that targeted hundreds of women’s accounts.
- The scheme took place between May 2020 and February 2021, during which prosecutors say he harvested personal information like emails, phone numbers, and Snapchat usernames to phish security codes and access accounts.
- Using social engineering, Svara allegedly posed as a Snapchat representative to trick victims into giving him their security codes — at least 570 women responded.
Theft & distribution of images
- Once inside accounts, he downloaded nude or semi-nude photos from at least 59 of them without permission.
- Prosecutors allege he then sold or traded those private images online or provided access as a “service” to others, even advertising on platforms like Reddit.
Alleged co-conspirator
- One person tied to the case is Steve Waithe, a former Northeastern University track and field coach, who previously served prison time for similar cybercrimes involving hacking students’ social media and sextortion.
Charges & court timeline
Svara faces multiple federal charges, including:
- Aggravated identity theft
- Wire fraud
- Computer fraud
- Conspiracy to commit computer fraud
- False statements relating to child pornography laws
He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on February 4, 2026.
What law enforcement is doing
The FBI is asking potential victims or anyone with information about the hacking scheme to come forward via their online victim form.
If you want more detail about the charges and potential penalties or how the phishing scheme worked, I can break that down too.
