Lock Bumping - How Safe Are Your Locks??

What exactly is LOCK BUMPING and am I at risk?
How Safe Are Your Locks? By Rene' Roberts
Do thieves have access to your home, mailbox or even your business?

We guard our house, car, and mailbox keys with the same vigilance as our wallets. But what if anyone, even a child, could gain access to your locks without your keys?

Lock bumping, which takes its name from how an altered key can actually undo a lock, has been known in Europe and among local thieves for years. The only people in the dark are the consumers who rely on locks to ensure their safety and privacy.

A large majority of locks that open with a key, called pin tumbler locks, have structural weaknesses built into them that can be exploited by people with little or no understanding of how locks work. In fact, most locks can be bumped open with any key that fits that lock, but does not open it. For example, if you open your mailbox with a key, your key will probably fit into other mailboxes in your area —even though postal locks are protected under federal law. Unfortunately majority of valley homes have these most basic level of security locks on them. This can be attributed to home builders buying these locks in bulk from home improvement stores which also sell these same locks to homeowners when they are replacing their own locks. Unfortunately for homeowners these are the easiest type of lock to bump, and with bumping tools for sale on the internet for about $4, homeowners should be extremely worried and taking immediate action.

Bumping is easier to master than picking locks, and in many cases can leave very little evidence behind if any. The lack of evidence of forced entry is leaving many victims helpless and holding the bill when insurance companies deny their theft claims as there’s no real proof of a break in. Some insurance companies now offer discounts for it’s clients that take measures to increase the security of the their homes. Call your agent to see what discounts they offer, many times these discounts can end up covering the cost to the consumer for increasing their security.

“I always recommend ‘high-security’ locks,” says local Phoenix locksmith, Jody Howard, owner of American Key & Safe. “With the right tool, even my wife and six-year-old son were able to bump a lock open.” Howard points out, “The first step to take in raising the security level on your home is to call a reputable locksmith and have them swap your entry level locks with higher security models. While the high security locks do cost more up front, their cost is washed out by the much higher level of protection they provide to the homeowner’s property each and every day, making the homeowner extremely unlikely of ever becoming a victim of theft by lock bumping. There are also many other advantages to upgrading to high security locks. Such as knowing your keyway is protected and can only be duplicated by the locksmith that holds the rights to that keyway, leaving the homeowner with a secure feeling that when they receive their key back from lending it out, that copies weren’t made.” Manufacturers such as Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, and Schlage make locks that are reported to be bump-resistant, all of which Howard highly recommends and sells at his Mesa shop or via his mobile fleet of technicians that will come directly to your home or business and even install them for you!


“I would say ninety percent of valley homes and businesses are vulnerable,” says Howard, whose shop is conveniently located on Southern Avenue West of the Superstition Springs Mall in Mesa. “It’s scary what the underworld knows that most people don’t.”


I have received this viral video a dozen or more times in the past few days, so obviously this is a hot topic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr23tpWX8lM