A U.S. court sentenced an Illinois man to 76 months in prison for using social engineering to break into hundreds of women’s Snapchat accounts and steal intimate photos. Prosecutors said Kyle Svara posed as Snap support between May 2020 and February 2021, used anonymized phone numbers to phish Snapchat access codes from more than 750 women, accessed about 517 accounts, and then enabled two-factor authentication to lock victims out. Court records also say he traded or sold stolen images online and advertised account-hacking services through Kik.
Why it matters: This shows how simple impersonation and one-time-code phishing can turn into large-scale account takeover and extortion-style abuse even without malware or software exploits. Snapchat users should be wary of messages claiming to be from support, never share login codes, and review account recovery and two-factor settings if they suspect compromise.
Sergiu Gatlan
2026.07.24
100% relevant
This article establishes a distinct story around a sentenced Snapchat phishing and account-takeover campaign targeting hundreds of women, with concrete victim scope, tactics, and legal outcome.
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