Homeless Man Accused Of Stealing From Unlocked Car, Phone

PROVO, Utah – Police said a transient man got pretty creative with the way he stole from his victims. The 19-year-old faces charges of stealing from his victim’s Venmo account.

Officials with the Provo Police Department said Stephen Farr faced charges from multiple car burglaries in Provo and Orem.

Detective Nick Dupaix said in five different cases, Farr grabbed cash, personal items, and credit cards from unlocked cars, and had gone on shopping sprees at nearby malls.

“Working with our victims we realize that there was a whole slew of other crimes that had been committed particularly electronically crimes,” Det. Dupaix said.

On June 24, police said Farr stole an unlocked iPhone out of a car and used it to send $325 to through a Venmo account to his girlfriend’s account.

Police said crimes like these have always been around but now there are easier ways of committing them.

“You would have to go through so many different ways to get peoples cash money or even their cards but now when everything is just on one device they can get just about what they want,” Det. Dupaix said.

Their message to drivers who plan on leaving their most valuable item in the car, is to first lock your vehicle, and second, lock you phones.

“Put a password on them,” Det. Dupaix said. “Protect your devices and by doing that you’re making it one step harder for these guys to gain access to your personal information.”