Authorities have reported that a Pennsylvania man posed as a Snapchat representative to deceive women into granting him access to their nude photos. He would then sell these photos as part of a scheme he had been running for several years, according to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on September 19.
The 34-year-old man from Pottsville has now pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing protected computers, as documented by court records. His defense attorney declined to comment on the case until his sentencing.
Investigators revealed that from February 2020 to February 2022, the man hacked into numerous women’s accounts with the intention of finding and taking their nude photographs. “He confessed to accessing victims’ Snapchat accounts at the direction of ‘clients’ who paid him to breach the accounts and acquire the images,” authorities stated. “He also admitted to using an app that allowed him to send text messages to victims, pretending to be a Snapchat representative.”
Subsequently, the man would manipulate the victims into altering their passwords and sharing the generated verification codes with him, as per the news release. Once in possession of these codes, he could gain entry into their Snapchat accounts, download their photos, and proceed to sell them, according to authorities.
The scheme orchestrated by the man was valued between US$40,000 (RM187,480) and US$95,000 (RM445,265), officials disclosed.
If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
“Exploiting our community in this way is both repugnant and illegal, and it violates our policies,” stated a spokesperson for Snapchat in a statement to McClatchy News.
“We have implemented safeguards that make it more difficult for unknown individuals to discover and contact members of our community. We also offer two-factor authentication to further protect Snapchatters’ accounts. We will never request Snapchat users’ passwords, so if anyone encounters this type of conduct, we urge them to immediately use our in-app tools to report it to us, as well as contacting law enforcement.”
Pottsville is situated approximately 100 miles northwest of Philadelphia. – The Charlotte Observer/Tribune News Service
Credit: The Star : Tech Feed
