Alleged OC Panty Thief Used Social Media Posts To Target His Victims
SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — A man accused of breaking into dozens of women's homes in Orange County apparently used social media posts to find and target his victims.
Arturo Galvan, 44, dubbed the "OC Panty Thief" appeared in court this week.
KCAL9's Peter Daut says Galvan is accused of breaking into the homes of nearly three dozen women in Orange County. Officials said he stole their panties and other items.
Investigators say he did it through social media.
Daut spoke to a cyber security expert on Wednesday who said the victims typically tagged their locations on social media posts. And Galvan apparently targeted women he fancied, officials said.
Galvan, a 44-year-old maintenance worker from Menifee, is accused of using social media to find his victims, most of them college students at Cal State Fullerton and Chapman University.
"He took a lot of my underwear and bras," said one victim.
The women did not want to show their faces on camera. Back in December, they said that Galvan snuck in through their bedroom windows. while they were inside.
"I was just like barely covered and he was standing right there staring at me through my blinds and I just screamed at the top of my lungs and tears were flooding down my face," said one woman.
Police say Galvan stole more than $250,000 worth of electronics, jewelry and underwear.
Investigators believe Galvan identified his victims by hanging out in public places and searching for posts on Instagram and Facebook where people "checked in," providing clues to their location.
They believe he then searched through his victim's photos gathering GPS data attached to the images to map out where they lived.
"I hope this is a wake up call for everyone out there," says Kevin Cohen, president of Data Triage.
Cohen is the president of a computer forensics company and says Galvan's case should serve as a cautionary tale for anyone on social media.
"Double check to see what settings are available and what privacy settings you could set," he says.
That is something many of the alleged victims say they now plan to do.
"Iit made me realize we shouldn't put where we are ever," said one.
Daut reports, Galvan is a married father of three girls and has pleaded not guilty.
