Fairfax County sex offender arrested in Snapchat phishing scam

A registered sex offender in Fairfax County, Virginia, has been charged after police said he tried to get into high school students’ Snapchat accounts.

Christopher Martini, 33, of Lorton, “sent text messages posing as a Snapchat representative and lured the victims into providing identifying information and login credentials,” Fairfax County police said in a release Wednesday.

The students contacted were from South County and West Springfield high schools, police said.

Martini allegedly used the account name “pviexposed” when he contacted the victims, and threatened to expose their private videos and images.

He has been charged with two counts of using a computer to gather identifying information and two counts of computer trespass. More charges are pending further investigation.

Last month, Martini pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation for computer crimes involving children in Loudoun County.

Martini is being held without bond at the Adult Detention Center.

Police are asking anyone who may have been contacted by Snapchat user pviexposed or who may have other information about this case to call the Major Crimes Bureau at (703) 246-7800, option 6. Anonymous tips can be sent through Crime Solvers by phone at 1-866-411-TIPS (866-411-8477); by text 847411, just type “FCCS” plus the tip; and online.

WTOP’s Dick Uliano contributed to this report. 

Will Vitka

William Vitka is a Digital Writer/Editor for WTOP.com. He's been in the news industry for over a decade. Before joining WTOP, he worked for CBS News, Stuff Magazine, The New York Post and wrote a variety of books—about a dozen of them, with more to come.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up