06.02.2026
2 min
416
A 26-year-old Illinois man has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a large-scale Snapchat hacking campaign in which he illegally accessed hundreds of women’s accounts to steal private nude photos for storage, sale, and online trading.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Kyle Svara used social engineering and phishing techniques between May 2020 and February 2021 to obtain Snapchat access codes from his victims. By impersonating Snap representatives, he sent thousands of text messages requesting verification codes. These tactics allowed him to harvest credentials from roughly 570 victims and illegally access at least 59 accounts to download private images.
Svara openly advertised his hacking “services” on multiple online platforms, offering clients access to women’s Snapchat accounts and trading stolen content. He primarily communicated with potential customers via the encrypted messaging app Kik.
One of Svara’s clients was former Northeastern University track and field coach Steve Waithe, who hired him to hack Snapchat accounts belonging to students and members of women’s athletic teams. Waithe was sentenced in March 2024 to five years in prison for cyberstalking, wire fraud, and sextortion after targeting at least 128 women.
In addition to paid jobs, Svara independently hacked accounts belonging to women in Illinois and students at Colby College in Maine. During interviews with investigators, he falsely denied any involvement in hacking or interest in child sexual abuse material, despite evidence showing he collected, distributed, and solicited such content.
The case highlights how basic social engineering techniques remain highly effective, allowing attackers to compromise large numbers of accounts without advanced technical exploits. It underscores the ongoing risks posed by phishing campaigns and the importance of user awareness.
