What you don’t want to find on a call to pick open a trunk lock.

            When you go out on a service call to open a lock for someone, you hope to get out to the location, open the lock and be on your way. But in life, you can’t always tell what is in store for you. This was the case for an Alabama locksmith who went out on a job to open up a locked trunk. Upon opening the trunk the body of a missing woman, which owned the car, was discovered after being missing for over a year.

            This is an odd story, as the family of the missing woman requested to get the trunk open after a whole year had gone by. And more surprising is that the investigators who originally searched the house, never thought to check the trunk of the woman’s car, simply because they didn’t have the keys to the car.

            This article I came by is brief, so there is probably a lot of the back story got left out. It just seems odd that it would take the family well over a year to do anything with their missing relative’s car.

Read the story here: http://www.myfoxal.com/Global/story.asp?S=12298963

Keyosk Dual Purpose Key Machine G888C

Copying keys is one of the usual tasks a locksmith will perform. People will usually go to a locksmith shop or a hardware store to get an extra set of house keys made. After watching a few YouTube videos on cutting keys, you notice that nobody explains what is happening in their video. I guess it is supposed to be self-explanatory. You load a blank key and the key to be copied into the machine and as the operator moves the slide along, the original key gets traced as the cutting wheel replicates the cuts into the blank key.

The video I’ve decided to show you today is of the Keyosk Dual Purpose Key Machine G888C. Mostly because it shows the cutting of a mortise/bit key, or skeleton key as I like to still call them. And if you’ve read my other posts, you know I love their design. This model of key cutting machine is recommended as an entry- level model and is made for cutting cylinder keys, mortice and bit keys that do not require sideward cuts, Abloy half circle keys, Abus, Ford Tibbe, and Chubb Ava Keys. If you wanted a machine that does sideward cuts on a mortise key, you would have to get a standalone mortise key cutting machine.

Door to Door Locksmith Scam

I came across a story about this man from Canada who was finally arrested on fraud charges, from multiple reports of this guy going door to door asking for money to hire a locksmith. He claimed that he had been locked out of his house and needed money to hire a locksmith to get into his house. He promised to pay back the money to those home owners that actually gave him money, but naturally he never returned to pay them back. The police reports listed that he had visited dozens of homes.

Is this a step up from asking for money on the street corner? You rarely know anymore if that person on the corner is really in need, or just trying to hustle you. There is a good number of people that make a living off of begging for money, even though they are not homeless and some rather well off.  This ruins things for the true homeless, destitute, and others who really need a helping hand.

Returning to the Canadian story, I am curious to the amount of donations he got from the folks he visited. The fraud claim against him is for counts under $5000, but I am still curious about the actual amount. Generosity can vary from person to person. Some people give and others do not. To get any money out of people, I would assume that he has a pretty convincing character.

Are Your Customers Trying to Fool You?

Stories of locksmith scam artist are still floating around the Internet and sometimes the news. But you never hear about any stories where the circumstances have been reversed. Are there scam artist or other criminals out to trick a locksmith in letting them into somewhere they should not be?

Some possible scenarios:

Scene 1—You are on route to a car lockout call. Upon arriving to the location, you see someone standing next to the car, but is it really their car? How can you check? Do you have DMV record access? Their Drivers License doesn’t say if they own any cars. I guess if they can produce an insurance document. Would that mean an uninsured driver is out of luck, for a locksmith’s help? What if this person was just a random passerby, who saw a set of keys locked inside of a car? And if a locksmith does mistakenly open the door to someone who isn’t the cars owner, is the locksmith liable for just doing his job and responding to the call?

Scene 2—In a similar fashion, our locksmith receives a house lockout call. Now in this case, the person who places the call should have the address on their I.D. or Drivers License. You never hear about any customer verification done by locksmith companies. Perhaps it is the ex-spouse or ex-girlfriend or boyfriend, and they once lived there, the correct address is on their I.D. Is it against the locksmith, if he unknowingly lets them into the house without knowing their true intentions.

Though these examples are the extreme cases of unfortunate events, which is not to say that they will never happen. Does any blame fall onto the locksmith for assisting these criminals? Should a locksmith follow their instinct or just do the job they were called for?

Getting Through a Locked Door With a Credit Card.

From my postings in the past, one may see that I like to go back and look at the lock picking methods highlighted by cinema and television. One of the popular ones back from the 1980s was that of picking open a locked door with a credit card. You know when the private eye needed to get into the suspect’s locked office. He needed nothing but to wiggle a credit card near the door lock and simply pop the door open.

The idea is that you can take any thin plastic card you have, and insert it in between the doorframe and the door where the lock latches. The card can be anything from a credit card to a library card. Ultimately you want to use the card to work down the latch of the lock, so that the door will release. The position the latch is facing will also determine how hard it will be to open the lock this way. If the slanted side of the latch is towards you, it will be a much easier time than if the latch is away from you. You can use your body to put some pressure on the door to aide in the process. By wiggling the card around, you can eventually move the latch down far enough to open the lock. To prevent this method, many doors have wood trim around the doorframe, blocking access to the latch. If this is the case, you may need to employ a different method or remove the trim. Though ruining the trim may not be worth it. And on another side note, this lock picking methods is only intended for spring loaded doorknob locks. It will not work on deadbolts.

And as always, here is a word to the wise. Only attempt to open locks that you personally own and have permission to try and pick. Attempting to pick open locks you do not own is a crime, even if you have no intent of stealing.

Making Your Lock Picking Hobby Into a Career

Chances are if you are viewing this blog, then you are a locksmith or have an interest. Many locksmiths started out with lock picking as a hobby. And what better way to put their talents to work than training to become a locksmith. You already love the challenge of opening a locked lock. But if you lock pick for a job, you will get paid for it and will be providing a valuable service to your customers. You will receive a sense of accomplishment as you help your customers out of an unfortunate situation and get back on schedule with their day. Working, as a locksmith requires that you be licensed by the state you intend to work in. One must also be licensed as a locksmith to own and operate a locksmith company. The steps to becoming licensed require passing a criminal history background check by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). There are also the required application fees and documentation fees to the FBI and DOJ. When you have cleared your background checks you will receive a temporary locksmith license. These steps are just a general overview, so if interested you should look up the specific requirements for the state you live in. While seeking employment from locksmith companies, you may have to go through another background check to make sure all of your data is still relevant.

Once you are fully licensed you can seek employment with a locksmith company or set off to start your own business.

In my opinion, the best looking key ever made has to be the “Skeleton Key”. It is also more correctly known as a “bit” key or a “barrel lock” key. I am not referring to a master key, but the old style key. Their style ranged from very simple to overly ornate. The amount of decoration may vary, but the designs were all roughly the same. The key consisted of a bow, a long shaft, and a flat blade at the end.

Because the design was so similar to other keys, the locks they were designed for were not completely secure. Security was removed, because multiple keys could be used to open the same lock. This led to the addition of a ward. A ward is a piece of metal over the lock that was shaped to its respective key. The idea was to keep any incorrectly shaped keys from entering the lock. It was good for keys that were bigger than the ward, but smaller keys could still be inserted. As well as lock picking tools.

This style locks has been in use for centuries and didn’t fall out of favor until cylinder locks were more easily produced and therefore more affordable. The lever locks that use Skeleton keys are still in use in older homes and some furniture pieces. Because of their simplistic design, locksmiths can easily recreate these keys for their customers. You can also pickup some general skeleton keys in hardware stores.

Tips For Starting A Locksmith Business

So you want to go into business for yourself. Here are some tips to help you start your research and get on your way to self-employment.

The first thing to do is make sure that you are a competent and proficient locksmith. Before you invest your time and money in starting a business, make sure you can perform the job with little difficulty. Choose the areas of locksmithing you will focus on and specialize in. Will you try to do everything, focus on car lockouts, re-keying, etc. The next step would be to contact your local Small Business Administration (SBA). They can give you all the background information and requirements for starting your business. They can assist you with getting a loan or other funding to cover the startup fees for your business.

As a part of figuring out your startup cost, you need to decide on whether or not you are going to need to rent a small office or if you are going to work out of your home. Working from home will cut down the cost of renting an office space, which can help out a lot when you are just starting out. As your business grows you may consider moving up to a small office or shop.

You of course will also need a work vehicle. Vans are usually the automobile of choice, because of all the extra space they have. There should be no problem finding room for all of your locksmith tools.Lastly you need to advertise your business and sell yourself. Create business cards and pamphlets about your company and your services. Work on networking with the local businesses and apartment complexes. Virtually any place that may need locksmith services.

Practicing Locksmithing As A Profession is a Crime for the Unlicensed.

As all reputable Locksmiths know, you must be licensed by your state to be employed as a locksmith. One must pass criminal background checks by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). If caught practicing without a locksmith license, you could easily face hefty fines and jail time. Even the possession of lock picks and other locksmith tools can be seen as criminal if you are not a licensed locksmith. The tools used by a locksmith are viewed as burglary tools by many states. Unauthorized possession of these tools can also lead to felony or misdemeanor charges. Most, if not all locksmiths know this. But this is also a word to the wise for the lock picking hobbyists out there. Be careful where you bring your tools, you may have no criminal intent but law enforcement officials may see it differently.

For example in California, one can get a ten thousand dollar fine and up to a year in prison for providing locksmith services while being unlicensed. Most states have similar laws, so it would be wise to research the laws of your state.

An excerpt from California State Assembly Bill 2592:

6980.13.  (a) Any person who violates any provision of this

chapter, or who conspires with another person to violate any

provision of this chapter, or who knowingly engages a nonexempt or

unlicensed locksmith, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a

fine of ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment in a

county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and

Locksmith Software Companies: BLACKHAWK Products

If you lookup Locksmith Software in GOOGLE, one of the top three results is Blackhawk Products. On their website they have a big collection of locksmith programs available to buy. Many are combination generators and key code databases, while they do offer a dispatching program.

Here are some of those programs:

• Desktop Dispatcher—Track jobs performed, work orders, work histories, employee earnings reports, as well as stores pictures and audio files.
• COD: Codes on Disk: A collection of millions of key codes. Codes to automobiles, combinations, and other cutting information.
• MEDECODE: You can track key cut codes you’ve given to customers for future reference. Includes a random code generator. You can specify the types of cuts and work backwards to find a key’s code by the cuts on it.
• KBX: Key Blank Cross- Reference. A databank of key blank styles and companies that make them. And what blanks can be used as substitutes for other keys.
• Fill: Will tell you what possible key cut combinations are available for a certain automobile.
• PIN: Tells you what types of pins to use in your lock cylinders. You can use this program to create pinning charts to your keys.
• RMP: Reverse Master Padlock gives you the possible key cuts for available

Master locks. The codes are taken from their COD program. Many of their key code programs are dated, but that doesn’t mean they won’t work. Many of the details refer to DOS, Windows 3.1, and Windows 95. It is great to know that you don’t always have to have the most recent software and hardware to run a business. You still see old DOS machines in furniture stores and in hospitals for many years.