Illinois Man Charged in Snapchat Hacking Investigation

An Illinois man, Kyle Svara, 26, of Oswego, Illinois, has been charged in federal court in Boston with phishing Snapchat access codes from at least May 2020 to February 2021 to gain unauthorised access to accounts and steal nude images, which he then kept, sold or traded online. According to charging documents, he texted more than 4,500 victims posing as a Snap Inc. representative to obtain Snapchat access codes, and around 570 victims provided codes, enabling access to the accounts of at least 59 women.

It is alleged that he downloaded nude or semi-nude images and used them for sale or trade; one co-conspirator named was Steve Waithe, a former Northeastern University coach who allegedly hired and paid Svara to hack accounts. Waithe was convicted in November 2023 and sentenced in March 2024 to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

The charges carry substantial possible penalties, and Svara is due to make his initial appearance on 4 February 2026; the announcement was made by according to U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts.