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Feb 1, 2007 11:59 pm US/Central
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'Bump Key' Can Let Thieves Enter Your Home
by Bennett Cunningham
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
Do you think your house is safe from a thief? It's not if they have the key to unlock your door.
According to recent FBI data, burglaries are the third most reported crime to police. Now an old culprit is making a new appearance. They're called "bump keys" and they can open up popular locks.
When Sarah Jackson's opened up the door to her Fort Worth home, she says someone used a key similar to the one she uses to access her house. The problem is, it wasn't her key.
It may have been a "bump key." The internet is teaching people how to use bump keys, generically cut keys that quickly open common locks. Bump keys can open many of the cheaper mass-market locks, some manufactured by Schlage and Kwikset.
North Texas master locksmith John says in the hands of an experienced locksmith, bump keys have a legitimate purpose. For example, they can help if you are locked out of your home. But he also warns that consumers need to be vigilant and invest in a lock system that is secure. Basically, you get what you pay for.
Bump key are easy to find. We found them for sale on the internet from a man in Richland Hills. He told me he sold the keys because, "I saw the demand for it, supply and demand. It's not illegal to sell it." He is correct. Incidentally, once these keys are used, they leave no evidence the lock was tampered with.
Many North Texas police departments didn't know about these keys until our report. The City of Richland Hills Police Department was the only department to immediately take preventive action and notified its crime watch program.
Detective Chris Bell told us, "If people are aware there is a problem there, then they can solve the problem. The problem has always been there, and now people are becoming aware of it."
How do you protect your home from a bump key? Medeco, Mul-T-Lock and Schlage's Primus system are good bets and are available at local locksmiths. But they're expensive some costing $150 a lock.
Arnold puts it this way, "I always tell people a pair of tennis shoes costs $150 now days. Why isn't a lock worth that?"
But some still can't afford the price of security. Sarah lives on a fixed income. She can't afford a high security lock.
Schlage and Kwikset did tell us its locks "performed as advertised and are just one layer of protection" for your house.
(CBS 11 News)