An Illinois man pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to hacking Snapchat accounts of nearly 600 women through phishing, stealing nude and semi-nude photos, which he then collected, sold, or traded online.
Kyle Swara, 26, an American from Illinois, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Boston federal court to computer fraud and aggravated identity theft. This case stems from an earlier prosecution involving a former Northeastern University track coach who hired Swara to hack social media accounts of athletes and other women.
Prosecutors stated that under a plea agreement, they will recommend a three-year prison sentence for Swara, with sentencing scheduled for 18 May.
According to prosecutors' documents, Swara used social engineering—a cyberattack strategy employing psychological manipulation—to trick women on Snapchat into giving him access to their accounts between May 2020 and February 2021.
He sent messages to victims posing as Snapchat support, requesting security codes, which allowed him to bypass the platform's authentication system.
Prosecutors reported that 571 women provided security codes to Swara, and at least 59 accounts were successfully hacked, enabling him to download nude or semi-nude images of the victims.
Charging documents also state Swara advertised his Snapchat hacking abilities on Reddit and other online forums, offering the content for personal use or exchange with interested parties.
In 2020, he was hired by Steve Wetther, a former Northeastern University track coach, to hack accounts of women whom Wetther coached or had personal relationships with, receiving $50 per hack.
Wetther was sentenced in 2024 to five years in prison for deceiving women into sending nude photos or stealing private images from at least 56 victims nationwide.
Todd Pugh, Swara's attorney, said his client has consistently accepted responsibility with family and close associates, and that this plea is an important step in publicly acknowledging accountability for his actions.
Source:channelnewsasia
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