Locksmith Ripoffs - Continue To Plague The Wider Locksmith Industry Worldwide

We have written about the Locksmith Scammers that infiltrate the locksmith industry, for many years now (see some of our articles here).

Above, you can find a recent in-depth hidden camera investigation produced by a Canadian news station, that shows these fraudsters are still ramping up their nefarious activities in North America.

It is becoming significantly more expensive to market a locksmith business worldwide, especially if you wish to compete fairly through the search engine mediums.

Multiple lawsuits including class-action litigations have been dismissed against search engine monoliths when judiciaries find the defenders attorneys claimed  the Communications Decency Act (47 U.S.C. SubSection230) describes how search engines and other advertising mediums are protected under USA Laws.

This, unfortunately means that the search engines are NOT responsible for what an advertiser might publish in their medium. It is the responsibility of the advertiser to be truthful in all its advertising.

This defense forms the precedent that defends any/all advertising mediums from culpability and transparency.

The video above shows some companies ripping off (would-be) consumers, using sub-standard methods and over-charging (bait and switch) for services rendered.

The decision handed down by the United States Court Of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, forms the precedent that protects advertising mediums/search engines from prosecution.
(see case).

When you decide that you need the services of a locksmith, it is up to you, the customer to be diligent in choosing your provider. Just because a company might enjoy many incredible reviews online, how can you be assured that these reviews are genuine? In reality you cannot. But often, third party sites like lead generation mediums, can provide customer reviews that are legitimate and checkable, because they are on the third party sites.

Many consumers today, refuse to spend sufficient time to research the appropriate trade service company to service their needs and will often use the top listed advertiser in their search results online. Realizing that most of the legitimate companies, the ones that provide legitimate professional services, are concerned about their reputations, often do not have the resources to pay for top listing on search engines. Meaning, they wont often be found higher in search. As such, they rarely compete with the higher paying advertisers. Naturally, these advertisers who pay more to be listed higher, have to charge more for their offered services, often significantly higher prices than they advertise.

The original story can be found in the source below.


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Safes Are The Logical Alternative To Weapons Safety And protecting All Residents And Citizens Without Altering Gun Laws.

As talks rage on in America about the Great Gun Debate #GreatGunDebate, perhaps educating Americans about gun safety might make a topical subject, worthy of inclusion in educational institutions and across wider society in general.

Americans really do not like being compared to other countries, especially when it comes to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The second amendment to the USA Consitution has repeatedly come under fire from many opponents to the basic right of all Americans, produced during a time in American history when possessing and carrying a gun was an almost necessary fact of life, due to all ranges of varmints, critters and (#RedCoats) others wanting to destroy the fabric of a burgeoning young nation.

I personally grew up, living in regions where firearm safety and security is/was a very important and vital aspect of society.

I fully support the individual right to choose for oneself. And this notion extends to not just firearms, but healthcare, abortion, religious freedoms among other pursuits.

A recent article in Inverse.com exposes the statistics about guns and suicide rates among Americans.
The article, "Controversial Approach To Gun Safety Links Gun Storage With Fewer Suicides" explains statistics  compiled through 2017 and published in 2018.

"The paper presents evidence that military personnel who might have had recent thought of death or self-harm, were significantly less likely than their peers, to keep firearms in their homes. But among those who did keep firearms in their homes, those with a history of such thoughts were only about half as likely to store their weapons safely"

In the survey, which involved data on 1,652 active-duty military personnel collected over 37 months, “safe storage” meant unloaded and locked up. Military personnel at high risk of self-harm were unlikely to store their weapons in this way.

The increasing amounts of shootings and mass murders in this country certainly identifies a mental health issue among a number of "supposedly" licensed and registered weapons owners and also the increasing numbers of non-registered and licensed weapons users. This argument augers well for governments to implement weapons storage ordinances,

Many locksmiths and safe manufacturers, distributors and resellers have deliberately trained in safe knowledge and product knowledge aimed at better protecting all residents from the nastiness of weapons theft, availability and ease to obtain.

Some countries require all weapons purchasers to store their weapons in government approved safes and cabinets, often with a separate lockable cabinet or drawer within, for the separate storage of ammunition.

Such ordinances contribute to the growth of the safe and security products industries, while providing basic protections for the general public, who can appreciate such rules aimed at protecting life.

While altering any constitutional amendment requires a constitutional convention, ratification by a majority of states and approvals of the justice system, the likelihood of such communal agreement in a timely and effective timeframe, is ambitious at best.

In the short term however, weapons owners can protect their investments, their families and their friends and acquaintances, by being pro-active and choosing to secure their property in high-security safes and security cabinets. Consulting your local professional locksmith is a great first step to learning about the wide range of products currently available to protect life and the lives of your fellow residents, while complying with the current laws and without changing or adding to existing weapons rules, laws and ordinances.

See the article in the source below.

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Has New York City Fixed It's Key Problems?

A post we made in October 2012 continues to find traction and views as it is still of important knowledge to us all today, as much if not more since first written in 2012. We just updated some of the links to working links (over time websites need to keep up with their broken links to avoid the pitfalls of search engine pagerank issues) so you can view the videos and some of the links we include. Continuing to provide links to the source of our content (even though we write our own content) credits the source and avoids us being called plagiarists. The following story is worth remembering and continue to be an important piece of knowledge, not just for the industry but also the marketplace... The Society Of Professional Locksmiths is an organization of professional locksmith owners and tradespersons whose intentions are to bring respect and admiration with ethical and moral business practises back to an industry that has seen the erosion of confidence in locksmiths, wane over the past few years, thanks to improprieties and shortcoming of other supposed industry organizations. The SOPL is fast becoming the industry's leading respected voice, training facility and source of products and services, that the market and industry have long been seeking. Unlike other locksmith industry organizations and training offerings, the SOPL developed their own superb in-house training guide and mentoring system that is second to none in the North American market. The following article is copied directly (with permission) from their website. If you like the article, please consider clicking the like buttons in the post. FDNY Keys Sold on EBAY - The NY Post - Where there's Smoke, there's Fire 10/07/2012 2 Comments On October 1st, 2012 a news story ran in the NY Post about a retired locksmith named Daniel Ferraris from New Jersey who sold a set of 5 keys on Ebay that were being called Masterkeys for the New York City Fire Department. Source - http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/lock_away_these_nyc_keys_g3PWCp3FzMapURRjyssJ4J This apparently angered NY City officials and public advocate Bill DeBlasio who raised concerns over terrorism. Keywords such as being alarmed, angered, lives at risk, safety, and more surfaced. Calls to Home Land Security were even made! DeBlasio himself went so far to say -  "We cannot let anyone sell the safety of over 8 million people so easily. Having these keys on the open market literally puts lives at risk. The billions we've spent on counter-terrorism have been severely undercut by this breech [sic]." A NYFD lieutenant said, “This guy should be prosecuted for selling something like that."

Scammers Still Infuriating The Wider Market and Industry - Post Revisited

A little over 5 years ago we posted the article below and have seen significant numbers of pageviews therein.

The issue of scammer locksmiths continues to plague the wider consumer market, but it's not just locksmiths. It is also a number of other once highly respected industries too.

In the article below, there is a video by #ABCTHELOOKOUT which was a current affair series exposing nefarious alleged scammers in a host of differing services.

We still advise all our customers and all consumers to be cautious when choosing your desired professional.


From June 2013....


We have warned consumers many times over the past 5 years about the slew of scammer companies posing as locksmiths ripping off victims, all across the United States and Canada.

These perpetrators are now invading many other countries operating similar scam operations in Australia, New Zealand, Great Brittain and other European countries.

This news is not really news to the locksmith industry but thanks to the Network Television companies, like #ABC, prime time television now has provided a much wider net to expose the shenanigans.

My good friend and colleague, Mike Bronzell of All Hours Locksmiths in Chicago, has been one of the leading voices exposing these crooks for the last 10 years. I joined Mike about 5 years ago in Chicago to watch a case filed against Dependable Locksmiths by the Illinois Dept Of Professional Regulation. that prosecuted one David Peer for running a similar scam company. (the court found the company guilty of fraud and fined them and cancelled their business licenses, but they simply popped up again under a different name to continue their victimizations. Just this year, in February we discovered that all charges against this company had been dropped and the judgement overturned due to improper court procedures)

The leader of the company operating these scams has finally been exposed, thanks to the in depth investigation and reporting by the team at #ABC's The Lookout, a highly acclaimed television series developed to provide the marketplace with expose's on many ripoff artists scamming consumers across the USA.

Meni Agababayev is the name of the owner of this company. 




The video above is the whole episode from this weeks #ABC's The Lookout, but the actual story we are referring to runs for the first 20 minutes.

Door Frame Repair - After Break In, Using Strikemaster II

We just completed another repair project on behalf of a property management company, where the tenant had been the victim of a burglary attempt where the door was kicked in and the frame failed.

We are not painters and advise our clients of such during the estimate phase. We are happy to perform the required repairs quickly and at the residents convenience.

Below you can see the "before" images and understand what we were about to encounter.

 This view is from the Garage side of the door we were to repair.

We advised the property manager that future painters would also be required to repair the walls and gaps around the exterior side of the frame.

Whomever had rehabbed this place, obviously decided to cut corners to save money (a common action of house flippers)

 You can see the damage to the interior trim, the location where the strike for the entrance set and deadbolt has completely been broken out. Also the paint on the inside wall was torn away in the attack.

Here is a better angle of the damaged door frame.


This project type is one of our common project requests. Customers requiring to fix a broken door frame after suffering from door frame failure resulting from a kick-in attack.

When considering to repair or replace the entire door and frame, understanding that the average cost in the local market to supply and install a new door and frame can be ~$1100 - $1500 for a quality professional to install a standard door and frame, it becomes worthwhile to seek alternative solutions that reduce cost while upgrading the security of the location.

Enter the Strikemaster II. This phenomenal security and repair product is expertly designed and manufactured in the USA. A Safe Homes is a company based in the Carolinas that is on the forefront of product development, especially when it comes to safety, security and protection of the doors we all use daily.

This next image shows our completed repair using new trim and the Strikemaster II expertly installed,

Comparing this to the before pictures shows the entire gaping hole left by the door kick-in (where the entrance set latch and deadbolt go), is now completely hidden.

You can still see the area that requires painting, another project for another tradesperson for another time.

 This image shows a different angle of the new trim and the still damaged paintwork.

Professional painter and decorators will first use caulk to seal the gaps between connecting pieces, Some painters will also remove the trim and paint the wall, then re-install the trim, creating more professional looking lines, that can then be caulked after the paint dries

This final image of the completed project shows a better view of the Strikemaster II. the unique patented product uses a 2 part process to create a "laminating" effect. Also the outer steel uses a lip designed to hook around the edge of the door frame. This lip is an integral part of the product design, because it increases the strength of the product when being attacked.

Strikemaster II also uses stainless steel screws about 3" long, that tie the product, through the flimsy thin frame, to the stud behind, effectively anchoring the new product and providing almost impenetrable strength.

Being 5' long and using 8-10 stainless steel screws, combined with the lip and the laminating effect, the product is very strong because a new attempt to kick-in the door will spread the weight applied by the kicking action across a wider surface.


It is unfortunately, all too common that a great many homeowners, property managers, residents and tenants just are not proactive enough to anticipate future events like door frame failure, by installing products like this in advance of an event. Perhaps purchasing new designer shoes is of greater importance than providing security protection for your family and colleagues.

Speaking to your local locksmith can provide you with some great knowledge and experience to effectively mitigate issues and events down the road.

This entire repair project cost about $300.00 and they could maintain their existing door and frame. Compare that to the average door and frame replacement cost, that does not apply similar door frame strengthening to prevent another kick-in attempt and you effectively spent almost a thousand dollars more without increasing security and protecting your family and possessions satisfactorily.

Daring Indiana Burglar Uses Bird Scooter To Make Getaway

A daring burglar in Indiana entered a homeowners residence though an unlocked door, ransacked the place and made his daring getaway on a for-hire scooter, according to an article appearing on ABC News.

According to the article the resident was at home during the raid and even heard some noises downstairs but when he went to investigate, he saw his wallet, laptop and car keys were missing.

According to police, there was no sign of forced entry indicating that the back door was left unlocked.

The Bird Scooter rental company has distanced themselves from the incident.

The article (in the source below) is yet another instance where crimes of opportunity appear to be on the rise. Leaving your doors unlocked used to be okay, in previous years but today, you're just asking for trouble.

Locksmiths across the country and around the world can provide quality locking products that will automatically lock the door when closed, but even the ages old nighlatch is designed to lock every time (unless you snib it open).

There is an apt saying, "Keep It Yours - Lock Your Doors"!

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In another article appearing on 10TV News in Hamilton Ohio, an elderly resident has been robbed by a man, whom she knew and even hired.

Apparently she paid him $150 to cut down a tree (which he never completed) and then this man entered her unlocked home and stole a further $250+.

This is yet another reason to "Keep It Yours - Lock Your Doors"!

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Burglaries At Gun Stores Increasing In Missouri And USA - But Locksmiths And Safe Specialists Have The Answers

Pictured above is a Google Maps embed of the location of the Denny Dennis Sporting Goods Store in Fenton, Missouri where thieves rammed the garage door to gain destructive entry and steal a number of firearms that are said to already have made their way to the streets of Missouri.

An article distributed widely has informed us about the daring burglary of the gun store and the theft of a number of firearms.

Another article in The St Louis Post Dispatch, dated September 6, 2018 also discusses this troubling trend of increasing burglaries of gun stores across America (see source below).

The article goes on to quote the store owner and his company's attempts to better secure his establishment. He explains that their use of gun safes actually mitigated further troubling loss.

Using security cameras, alarm systems, bollards at the front etc, they show that the store owners and management are pro-active in their security concerns, but it is still disappointing and troubling that there are still so many nefarious attempts to burglarize gun shops.

Deadly Inconvenience - Modern Day Vehicle Key Fobs Are Being Found Complicit In Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Deaths

Pictured here is a typical example of a modern day key fob for a vehicle. This particular fob is for a Ford brand of vehicle.

An article in the New York Times (see the source below) talks about the commonplace issue of modern day vehicles, that use key fobs as opposed to the old ignition keys, we all previously had to use, where the ignition systems on vehicles are inadvertently left running, even after a homeowner has parked their vehicle inside their garage.

Today there are about 17 million vehicles on the road in America, about half of which use some version of a key fob to operate the vehicle ignition system. This system was designed (in part) to increase the security of vehicles and provide convenient and simple to use access control.

But perhaps the inventors of this technology did not account for the issues that have surfaced. Specifically, that many ignition systems are being left on by accident. Because many of these key fobs, only require to be within a certain proximity of the vehicle to operate, a number of people are failing to adequately switch off their ignitions, resulting in carbon-monoxide poisonings. Vehicles are often left inside a closed garage and with the great number of quiet engines today, people may not be hearing their engines running.

According to the New York Times article titled, "Deadly Convenience: Keyless Cars And Their Carbon Monoxide Toll", 'more than two dozen people have been killed by carbon monoxide since 2006 and dozens of others have been injured, some with brain damage, after keyless ignition vehiles were inadvertently left running inside garages'.

According to the article, Toyota vehicles including Lexus have featured in about half of the carbon monoxide fatalities and injuries. Many modern day Toyota vehicles run a lot quieter today than in previous years and this is proving to be a concern for many elder people who may drive those brands of vehicles.

The article goes on to discuss lawmakers approaches to countering the problem and discussions by safety boards, but no legislation has been enacted to force vehicle manufacturers to comply, at this time.

Some manufacturers have added safety features like timed cutoff's and warning buzzers in later model vehicles, but many of the older vehicles are subject to this flaw that could be a matter of life and death.

The article (in the source below) makes some interesting reading.

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Moved House But Forgot To Change Locks And Subsequently Got Broken Into With No Damage

Moving house is a chore. Many new homeowners are wrapped up in moving efforts, closing expenses, arranging removalists that they tend to overlook the fundamentally important task of having their new home rekeyed.

Many homeowners are unfortunately unaware or even misled by agents and sellers about the exact state of their door-ware or key system in their new home.

Many residents are unaware that home construction companies will purchase their locks and door-ware in bulk from manufacturers and distributors directly, and all those locks will be purposefully keyed to that construction companies internal master key system. This allows the construction company to only hand out 1 key for all their properties everywhere and allows their construction tradespeople to access all the different and separate properties they may be working on, without scrambling to find each separate sites individual key.

Pictured here is a typical pin tumbler cylinder showing the components used in it's build out.

The important attribute is the bottom pins. These are the pins that correspond to the cuts on your keys.





In the above picture you can see the essential components of a typical pin tumbler cylinder. The little holes to the left of the primary bottom pin holes, are for construction keying. Construction keying is a process that some manufacturers use to build specific sets of locksets for different builders.

At the end of the construction phase, the new homeowner will usually insert their individual key in each keyhole and turn. That first turn of the key, will drop some ball bearings into the holes, thereby preventing the old construction key from operating in future.

However, in my many years practising the locksmith trade, I have found time and time again, that many homeowners delay or forget to rekey their locks upon taking possession of their new abode.

 In the picture here, you can see a typical mock up of a master keyed cylinder.

You will notice a set of master pins between the bottom pins and the top pins.

These master pins enable multiple differing keys to potentially operate in your keyhole, effectively reducing the security of your door locks.

For a business or residence that wants to restrict key holders from operating certain particular door locks, without handing out or using separate keys, usually they will ask for their locks to be master keyed to a unique master key system.

But, all too often I see in the field, many circumstances where a lock has been master keyed and then the new resident or dweller will be unaware of such and live with it in oblivion to the potential disaster awaiting them.

Just last week, we attended a commercial customer (who had obviously contacted another company to rekey their locks). This customer has been using us for a number of years, but obviously someone else decided to use a competitor.

I have no qualms about any customer using their choice of professional, but I do draw the line at improper or mischievous techniques those "other" service companies might employ.

The 4 keyholes I rekeyed, actually were master keyed, unbeknowest to the store manager. 2 of the four keyholes included multiple master pins in each chamber, indicating that a significant number of differing keys also operated those locks. Again, without the knowledge of the store manager or corporate management. Besides this important detail being overlooked, the other 2 keyholes had pin tumblers missing completely from their chambers, effectively eliminating virtually any security for the particular locks.

Besides these plugs (cylinders) missing some pins and having multiple master pins in a few chambers, the plug itself (the barrel you put the key in), the top of the barrel had been filed. That single act alone, of filing the barrel, renders an already flawed cylinder even less secure because now, multiple differing keys, including some keys that may be completely different, will operate these locks.

Kwikset in recent years, altered the design of their mainstream lock cylinders to their new Smartkey system. A system that allows the customer to rekey their own locks as desired. The new Smartkey locks CANNOT be master keyed.

When master keyed locks are requested, we recommend customers to purchase a high-security restricted key profile to prevent unauthorised duplication of keys. This will protect a resident or business from those who would surreptitiously duplicate keys for nefarious purposes.

Why Is Re-keying Your Home Locks Vital And Important For Home Security?

Pictured here is a typical front door entrance set found commonly across the United States.

Many customers we visit, ask us to re-key their locks. It is one of a locksmiths principal service offerings.

But why is it a vital and important project upon buying, renting or moving to your new home, to re-key locks?

In our vast 35+ years of experience across four continents, we have re-keyed a great many lock systems for our customers. The obvious reason for re-keying your locks, is to lock out a key holder.

We attend many customers who rarely think to re-key their locks when they first move in to their new home or office. Many seem to think that previous owners or tenants have returned all the operating keys and that full disclosure indicates there are no additional operating keys "out there".

But time and again, we find that many homeowners are unaware that many of their new locks, installed by the building contractor, are in fact master-keyed. The reason their locks are master-keyed is often a building contractor or home construction company, will build more than one or two or three houses in a new locality and to minimize the number of different keys that each of their tradespeople are required to carry, to access each different property, the builder will order direct from the manufacturer, all their locks keyed to their master system. The builder will obviously hand over the individual operating keys for each new property to the new owner or agent, but many new homeowners are unaware that their new locks are actually master-keyed and will often delay or forget altogether to ensure no-one but they have keys or copies to their new home. Perhaps they are lured into a false sense of security that their new home is secure because they have original keys in their possession?

There are some builders who operate with integrity and install Construction Keyed locks to doors. And these builders will also instruct the customer to insert their individual operating key to all their new locks and in so doing, their construction keyed cylinders will naturally and automatically "switch off" the construction keying function.

We just came from another customer where we re-keyed their locks. In dismantling the cylinders we discovered master pins in multiple chambers, indicating (most likely) that these locks have never been changed, since original installation.

Now, here is the rub!

Crime Reports - St Louis Metro Region (last 30 days)

 Pictured below are some maps provided by Crime Reports that show 3 regions within the St Louis Metropolitan Area that identify the locations of Property Crimes, Robberies and Break & Enters, that have occurred in the last 30 days.








Many home buyers like to research information about their desired neighborhoods to live in and knowing the number of crimes reported recently in those areas, provides valuable data when determining the price they want to pay for a home in a particular neighborhood.

Pictured to the left are the Maryland Heights/Creve Coeur areas.








 Pictured to the left here are the Florissant/Hazelwood/Bridgeton areas.

 Pictured to the left here are the downtown/south city/Webster Groves areas.










We selected to only show the last 30 days activity of reported crimes, that are specifically Robberies, Property Crimes (which can include instances of theft or damage etc) and Break & Entering. You can determine your own reports by visiting the Crime Reports website (in the source below), where you can select fine details including particular street names and different crime types, that might fit your chosen criteria.

This information will prove helpful to real estate professionals, home buyers, property valuers as well as security system providers.

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Holiday Season - Increases Theft Opportunities

Denver Police recently released a video they made with a former thief about the pitfalls of holiday season shopping.

The fellow in this video highlights excellent points that all shoppers, especially holiday shoppers require to be aware of and take precautions to avoid.





The person in this video informs us that we all need to be much more vigilant and self protective, because there are a great many nefarious characters just waiting to prey upon our negligence.

I believe it is my responsibility to provide information and education about products and services that increase your and your families personal and property security.

The locksmith profession is one of the oldest professions, dating back to medieval times. Locksmiths came about because consumers have a need to find someone who can provide the better lock system to protect our properties, our dwellings and our families from the continually increasing instances of burglary and theft.

As "Dave" points out, the thief doesnt discriminate. The thief doesnt care whom he causes harm to.
The thief is always "casing" the parking lot for the opportunity to commit a crime.

As a consumer or a parent, it is only our own responsibility to protect ourselves and our families, by taking preventative action to thwart attempts to steal, damage or cayuse harm to us, our friends or our families.

Sometimes there is little that can be done to stave against some of the methods that these nefarious characters ply. By contacting your local locksmith or consulting with an industry approved locksmith with accreditation from notable associations like the SOPL (Society of Professional Locksmiths), ALOA or a couple of other notable groups, the consumer might find ways and means to protect themselves, their friends, their families and their properties, this festive season.

Providing security advice and offering quality security products and services are the principal aims of the locksmith trade. Not all locksmiths, just make keys to cars.

We wish you the happiest and least stressful holiday season. We wish you a happy, healthy and secure festive season.

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Audi, BMW And Mercedes Targeted - Bold Thieves Operating Smash And Grab Pattern

Many car owners feel pretty secure leaving their car keys in a bowl when they get home from work. Yet, statistics show that the increased boldness of thieves to break in while you are home, is increased. According to a recent report in the Herald Sun newspaper, Sgt Ferguson, of the Moorabbin Police force said, "“We’re seeing a trend where people are breaking into houses while you’re there, "

Forget picking locks for a minute.
Burglars know that the most productive method of entry is to smash their way in.
As locksmiths, it is our desire to create the simplest yet secure product meeting our customers budgets.

We offer simple, cost effective products aimed at stopping the "Smash and Grab".

From preventing Door Frame Failure to preventing Glass Breakage we can protect against the smash and grab.

According to the article thieves are targeting Audi, BMW and Mercedes owners among many luxury brands. They lurk nearby waiting to pounce when they see your vehicle. Often these thieves will use your car to cause mayhem.

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Robbers Kick In Door Of St. Louis Home, Shoot Man

A June 19, 2015 article in the St Louis Post Dispatch tells about a homeowner in North St Louis County who was shot by intruders after they kicked down the front door.

Luckily the homeowner survived the brutal attack.

According to the article, the robbers were looking for guns and money.



This story highlights the need for better door protection products, purposely designed to thwart door frame failure.

We have been offering the fabulous Strikemaster II Pro Door Frame protection and repair product for almost 5 years now and have installed a significant number to doors after the door frame has already been damaged. We have sold and installed the product to concerned homeowners who proactively want to protect their homes and families with so far, no reported failures of the product.

We originally talked about the Strikemaster II Pro in this article back in December 2009.

One instance that comes to mind was when a customer called me on Thanksgiving 2010 after her front entrance was broken down by the fire department answering a smoke detector alarm call. She had left some soup on her stove turned down to low, to keep warm while she darted out to the shop. Smoke from the stove got into the smoke detector signalling the fire department who attended very quickly and broke down the door. Because she had a $4000 door, she was quoted by multiple contractors significantly expensive prices to replace her door and frame, however no one was able to come out for a week. She couldnt leave her door unsecure and was put off by the unrealistically expensive estimates. She got on to me through the Home Advisor network and I contacted her immediately, informed her about the Strikemaster II product, sent her to the product video on my website (in the above link), estimated the paltry cost and waited for her return call. She called back 15 minutes later and booked me for the next day. We attended the site, installed the Strikemaster II, which completely repaired her existing frame and covered all the damage, without having to replace her door and frame. Needless to say she was very pleased.

We are currently out of stock of the product, with new supplies expected in the next week.

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HP Warning - The Internet Of Things Products May Be Crap

If you can monitor your own house across the internet. so can everyone else


Today's shiny new security products that are sold just about everywhere, have all the bells and whistles and will even make you coffee in the morning (yeah, right), are quite the rage, arent they?.....or are they?

HP recently completed a study to determine the effectiveness and quality of 10 leading brands of home security products that use real-time monitoring of access control and security for their effectiveness. The result (from this study), indicated that every home security system (tested) contained significant vulnerablities including but not limited to password security, encryption and authentication issues.

HP's Fortify On Demand security service recently tested the offerings from 10 different companies based on video cameras, motion detectors together with cloud and mobile based communication protocols. It found none of the systems required the use of a strong password and 100% of the systems failed to offer 2-step authentication processes.

Connected home security systems are becoming one of the more common Internet of Things (IoT) products that we can all see, touch and use easily today and many manufacturers are climbing aboard this runaway marketing train, to eake out some market share with fast to manufacture components that lack fundemental data security protections. It is almost as if they dont care about peoples data security and given the alarming increase in data theft over the last couple of years, are they selling us short?

Check out the article in the source below for further details...

Having been involved in commercial, residential and industrial security around the world, across the last 2 centuries, we continue to recommend a separation between perimeter security products (deadbolts, door handles etc) and electronic add-on products, like cameras, card swipe access control products and alarm systems.

Using a mechanical security product as your first and last line of physical security is necessary to keep you secure today.

I continue to recommend high-security key control and mechanical access control solutions to all consumers , intent on maintaining the safety and security of their dwellings, offices, institutions and families.

I do believe that the 2-step authentication process will be a major factor in the coming years to protect all users of a security system, because our protection and the protection of our fellow workers, our children and our loved ones, is far more important than having the latest and greatest, you beaut widget that sings for us.

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SOPL Expo May 1-3, 2015 - Indianapolis

The Society Of Professional Locksmiths proudly introduce the inaugural SOPL Expo, to be held in Indianapolis Indiana, May 1-3 2015.

Daring to be different, the SOPL is a modern era locksmith association that believes in training as one of the core influences in the future of the locksmith industry.

The increasing technical challenges and shifts in business accumen, affect all our decisions regarding the locksmith business. 

Now, the opportunity to participate in a new breed of association, presents us with the challenge to learn about new and alternative products, learn new business practises, marketing skills and business opportunities..

Some of the classes on offer include...

Internet SEO & The Scammer Killer Kit

Stop With The Deadbolts Already!

Emerging Access Control & Integration

Wireless Automation Controls

Commercial Door Installation, Service and Exit Hardware

Servicing Meroni Decorative Hardware

Door Jamb Mortising for Reinforcement

Advanced Master Keying

Advanced Automotive Transponder Programming

Safe Manipulation Boot Camp

Whereas the courses will be open to bonafide locksmiths, the exhibits and trade show will be open to the public.

Interact with locksmiths, teachers, industry players, facilities managers and more.

Check out all the details in the source below.

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Electronic Locks - Wireless Or Wired Are Not A Very Green Oriented Product

 It seems that wireless or wired electronic locks are all the rage today in this rapidly progressing tech-electronic age we are in. Products like the Lockwood 001T, pictured here use a battery pack to offer keyless access control options.

But in recent years, many discussions continue to be held about green, ecological alternatives that cause no drain on power or grid electricity supplies.

Many customers seem to be considering the use of wireless battery powered products or even hard wired lock systems to add so called "convenience" to their lives.

While it is understandable that some systems can add convenience and access control to our homes and offices, the available products are not really "green" alternatives.

 The August Lock, came out a little while back, offering the ability to have a keyless/smartphone connected access control solution.

The product is very intelligently designed and may offer concerned customers the alternative they are seeking, however it is worth remembering that batteries require replacing every so often. What happens when your smartphone battery has run out? What happens when the products battery pack loses power?
How do you operate the product without a mechanical "keyed" back up?

The increasing evidence of smartphone theft and the quantity of known hacks, presents problems that many consumers may not have considered.

 At least Kwikset, are including their mechanical "keyed" cylinder in many of their Bluetooth and wireless battery powered products, even though the Kwikset Smartkey product has a poor track record of quality and is too easily compromised.

The Kwikset Kevo product was released last October. It is a Bluetooth, battery powered deadbolt that can be operated by a connected Bluetooth device (smartphone). It also comes with the Kwikset Smartkey cylinder, enabling a mechanical backup solution, even though there are many published records of the Smartkey problems, in the news.

Certainly there are many and varied options for wireless, keypad controlled, keyless solutions, but the quality of manufacture still leaves much to be desired in terms of quality and sustainability.

Many manufacturers continue to bring out ever increasing product options to whet the appetites of consumers.

But not too many are including the necessary mechanical keyed component as a backup.

I realise that many customers are impressed with the ability to grant access to certain people and then change that access on the fly, but the use of electronic products is not a "green" consideration, is it?

Georgia Imposes Hefty Fine On Rogue Trader Posing As Locksmith

CBS Atlanta 46



The State Of Georgia has imposed a hefty fine against another rogue sheister posing as a locksmith company and blatantly ripping off consumers in the Atlanta and surrounding suburbs.

Hot on the heels of that #ABC The Lookout expose, aired on prime time TV a couple of months ago, that showed another rogue trader performing the identical scam, this time the authorities have slapped a noteworthy fine.

But, unfortunately he is not out of business completely. He is still allowed to trade, although he has supposedly agreed to make his business practices more transparent.

It is most unfortunate that the American consumer marketplace is being attacked by these foreign, often middle eastern people who come here to escape their oppressive and repressive societies. Why do they not try to meld into the fabric of American society? Become honest, hardworking and respectable community members and reap the benefits of friendship and comeradery that most Americans share.

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Bentley, Audi, Lamborghini, Porsche and other Automobile Brands Security Weakness Discovered - But Covered Up

Megamos Cryptology, the science behind the electronic security of transponders for most vehicle systems available worldwide and preferred by many of the larger automobile manufacturers, has been cracked.

Scientists from the University of Birmingham, had planned to release their new whitepaper at the Usenix Security Symposium in Washington DC in August until a last minute high court injunction by the UK.
Volkswagen, one of the world's largest automobile manufacturers and the principal litigant, claimed the scientific discovery's publication could severely impact the security of vehicles, including four of their luxury car brands, Porsche, Bentley, Audi and Lamborghini.

The scientists involved argued that the technology responsible for leading to their discovery, called "chip slicing", has been available on the internet since 2009. Essentially, chip slicing is like reverse engineering technology, which has been used for many years by countries that do not respect patent laws, to build often cheaper, inferior versions of electronic gadgets and sell to the wider markets.

The argument, the scientists put forward, that insider knowledge (industry and criminal) of the methods to determine a vehicles security weakness should be tabled to potential buyers and current owners of automobiles, was dismissed by the High Court, who sided with Volkswagen. Mr Justice Birss said he recognized the scientists right to publish, but it will mean "that car crime will be facilitated".

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Sargent G1.5 - Serious Stand Alone Access Control Product With Unique RF Remote Lockdown

The Sargent G1.5 Cylindrical lock is a part of their Profile series of products.

The product pictured here is actually the Mortise lock version and is considerably more expensive but the cylindrical version is essentially the same design except the key cylinder overide is in the body of the lever instead of the body of the controller and it uses a standard tubular latch backset.

The product has been designed and built from the ground up, in consultation with many school administrators, maintenance and facilities managers and school security experts.

Many of these discussions have taken place because of the unusual increase in school related invasions and murders in recent years.

The Sargent G1.5 is a hard wired access control product that allows for up to 2000 users. It also has a 2000 event history that can be used for audit trail benefits. There is a data transfer port to enable acquiring audit trail data or installing new access codes.

The fabulous remote RF activator allows a teacher to be 75 feet away and lock the door, disabling all entry codes except an administrator, in case of an emergency lockdown. (see video below)