Protect your house and family from bump keys, part 1

Hello,

This post has to do with "bump keys".

On August 2nd, 2006, Newsweek ran a web article on bump keys that
started a public media spread of the information.

Bump Keys are an old locksmith method of opening or bumping locks.
Bump keys are usually considered to be a lock pick, so if lock picks are illegal
to possess in your geographic area, the bump key is probably also illegal.

Bump keys are "basically an old-fashioned way of picking a lock,"
said Jerry Cunningham, of the Danville Police Department.

Bump keys are certainly not the only way a criminal can enter your home,
business, or vehicle.

Police say burglars also tend to break-in in a more straightforward way, like
smashing a window.

Bump keys are just one more example of a threat to your personal safety.

Bump keys are no more a threat than any of the hundreds of other ways of
getting in your home, but now thanks to the internet and video sites,
lock bumping and lock bump keys are sweeping the internet and America.
So how can you provide the much needed security of your house against
bump keys?

First, you should be aware of this security vulnerability to your home and two,
you should consider buying a better lockset with more pins to make this
attack harder to execute.

In America, almost all the locks sold in hardware stores can be opened with
just two different bump keys. " Most consumer-grade deadbolt locks and
keyed doorknobs made by companies such as Kwikset and Schlage and
sold at home-improvement and hardware stores are easily opened with
bump keys."

"Bump keys are able to bypass both the standard lock in your knob and the
deadbolt and it's not just locks at home that concern security experts "It can
be pretty serious especially when you consider that more than five million post
office box locks can be bumped open in the same fashion which is perfect for
identity thieves."

"High security locks add extra locking features within the cylinder which
makes the bumping much more difficult," said Clyde Roberon of Medeco, Inc.

Police say there's more to home security than just locks.

Police do say spending all that money won't matter if you don't take the next
step of locking your doors in the first place, or activating your home security
systems.

In part two, to be posted soon, we will discuss the different grades of locks,
High Security locks, and an internet rumor that is FALSE about bump keys.

Thanks for reading, stay safe,

Sincerely,

Thomas Sherwood
615 355-5886
www.sherwoodlocksmithing.com

PS....if you have any questions, please feel free to
contact us.