Locksmithing Blog

I am beginning to think that we are the only 24 hour locksmiths who work the weekend in Preston, particularly the Friday and Saturday after midnight. The last two weekends have both had a call out where, whilst chatting to the caller at the door, they have offered the fact that they had called at least 4 other locksmiths each before getting to Lancashire Locksmiths. We were, of course, happy to help, and both jobs were done quickly and neatly, and non-destructively, and for what we think was a fair price.
Of course, one lady who called us at 4am to get a price for fitting a spyhole in her front door was suprised at the cost, but at 4am on a Saturday morning, our prices, like all emergency and on-call services, are somewhat higher, both for being the weekend and for being well after hours! (An extra £10 each, should you be wondering) She called back somewhat later, and we did the job for somewhat less, during the daytime. Of course, had the customer felt it was an emergency, we would have attended within the hour, as normal.

Turns out you can put a lat/long into Google maps. You need to use the following format: http://maps.google.com/?sll=53.616%2C-002.816

sll tells Google it is Lat/long, and then you enter it with  xx.xxx,yy.yyy format, same as usual. (%2C is the URL safe version of a comma)

When you press go, you will see a map of your grid reference location.

Got a bit of post today. I looked at it, and thought “Junkmail”, no return address, plain “fake handwritten” manilla envelope… and opened it anyway.

Inside was a pair of cards either side of another envelope. The card said “FRAUD OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT” and so I opened this second envelope. Inside was a new credit card.

Seems like the change in the UK law that basically ensures that no-one will ever be caught for card fraud again has had an effect on the banks!

Not to get too political, but the government, in it’s infinite monkeys & typewriters kind of way of making laws, snuck through a law that says that the banks are now responsible for investigating credit card & cheque fraud. (That this started on April 1st is no surprise) Now, for many years it has been noted that banks and other financial institutions are very prone to under-reporting these things, and even getting in the way of the police investigations when the outcome would upset the shareholders.

Expect to see and hear the government take credit for a huge drop in reported card crime, and soon! Some will be due to the banks tightening things up, but mostly it will be sudden and massive underreporting of one of the most prevalent crimes in the UK.

(Continued from yesterday’s post)

So, how do we stop this new and very effective attack?

Buying your own keyway is possible for a large company or the very wealthy - get in touch! - but, for the rest of us, there are only two options. The first is to buy a bump-proof lock. As far as cylinder locks go, there are only a handful available for under £40 + VAT, which makes replacement an expensive option, especially for a business with perhaps hundreds of locks. And this is before we talk about masterkeying!

The second option, however, is a new treatment for your locks, which is designed to stop bumpkeys, as well as to hinder picking. The treatment is long lasting and unaffected by oil or other common chemicals, weather, UV exposure and temperature. Reasonably quick and simple to apply, a whole building can be re-secured in an afternoon, and with little disruption.

Call us now for an anti-bumpkey protection quote! We can also do a full security report on your home, unit or office, and improve the safety and security of you and yours, at the same time, for no extra cost.

Bumpkeys are specially cut down keys that will open almost any cylinder lock currently on the market. Sometimes they are temperamental, and other times they will open an otherwise very secure lock in a matter of seconds. Your uPVC door is probably at risk, along with your expensive Mul-T-Lock or Garrison cylinders at work. Lever locks are not affected - well, not good ones - as this attack has been known on them for over 100 years. Bumpkeys have been a better kept secret, until the internet let the cat out the bag.

There are literally hundreds of videos online about making bumpkeys, pages with tips for opening, and how to obtain blanks and even lists of which locks are easy to bump, and which aren’t. Perhaps most worryingly, there are websites selling bumpkeys to anyone who wants one. (We won’t be linking those)
How can you be more secure? Well, there are a few options. For example, about 85% of all keyways are based on the A1 blank, and just three different bumpkeys can let even an unskilled beginner walk through those doors. The best option is to change to a more secure lock. These range from a few tens of pounds, up to hundreds of pounds. However, a thief with the right bumpkey may still be able to get in by using a bumpkey for that lock. Cost is absolutely no way to tell if a bumpkey will work, and, due to the better tolerances in the more expensive locks, they are easier to bump!

A restricted or semi-restricted keyway is one only available to a certain locksmith or group of locksmiths. This cuts down the odds of a bumpkey being made commercially available to almost zero, but, again, it is no guarentee. Someone with determination could still buy the same type of lock, and use the provided keys to make a bumpkey. And they could even test it on their lock before opening yours…

Join us tomorrow for real answers!