Colorado is not immune to the legions of fraudulent locksmith companies, employing foreign (often illegal) workers, using the classic "bait and switch" tactics.
These companies have been running rampant across America for the last 3-5 years. The above report is from a few days ago, but clearly shows that these people will stop at nothing to rip you off.
Very few locksmith companies can afford to spend what some of these companies spend on advertising in any given month. Locally, I personally know of 2 similar companies that spend between $10,000 and $15,000 each month to be located across the top of all the search engines in the hope to pick up the unsuspecting consumer in need. $10,000 is a lot of money to spend on advertising and it's no wonder they try to charge as much as possible. They are not locals, they are not even trained in the locksmith trade. They are often foreign nationals on leave after completing their national service (of their home country), are put into private unmarked cars, with tools they do not know how to use.
The locksmith trade, across the country is reeling from the affects of these people. Many long established mom and pop companies are having to wind down operations, retrench staff and cut costs to remain solvent. This is primarily due to the influx of scam operators across the country.
In the 2000 census, there were 26,000 locksmiths known in the USA. In NYC, there are 40,000 advertisements online and in the book, this year. If you look at Google Maps, there are usually 20 or more at just about every intersection.
In Saint Louis, there are about 15 total locksmith shops across the greater metropolitan area and about 20 legitimate (known) mobile operators, yet just looking at the listings online or in the directories, you would think that there are considerably more.
