Carbondale law enforcement warn of Snapchat hack
The Carbondale Police Department warned the public last Friday that more than 200 Snapchat accounts in Western Colorado were hacked in the past week. According to a press release, accounts of at least four young women residing in the Carbondale area were hacked.
The FBI is investigating this on a national level, the press release stated.
District attorney Jeff Cheney also sent out a release Monday about the matter.
“Several local law enforcement agencies have recently received reports that some teenagers’ Snapchat social media accounts were compromised by an individual(s) posing as a friend of the account,” Cheney’s release stated. “Once given access, the individual is able to view all of the content of the account, even if it has not otherwise been made public, and can use the account to target others.”
Snapchat is a mobile messaging app that allows users to send photos or text messages that only appear for up to 10 seconds.
Carbondale police and other local law enforcement agencies are working with those whose accounts were compromised. Both Carbondale police and the District Attorney’s office encourage users to change passwords and never give out their login information.
In addition, the Carbondale press release stated that Roaring Fork High School will be reviewing social media safety with students this week.
The high school also responded to the incident in a letter to parents.
“Yesterday, we learned that several of our students’ Snapchat accounts were compromised,” the letter from Principal Brett Stringer advised. “An individual posing as a friend reached out to these students and requested their Snapchat login information.
“We will be encouraging all students with Snapchat accounts to immediately change their passwords and to never give out their login information for any reason,” he said in the letter.
Carbondale Police Department asks if others have been impacted by the breach to please contact them at 970-963-2662.
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