Imagine this: You arrive home from work to find your door unlocked and your home robbed. No signs of forced entry, so you assume you must have forgotten to lock your door. Right? Not so fast…
If you’ve never heard of lock bumping before, now is the time to educate yourself. Lock bumping is a method of forced entry that is gaining in popularity among thieves and criminals. What’s so unique about lock bumping? Three things: it requires just a few inexpensive tools, it leaves behind no signs of forced entry, and it’s so easy a child can do it.
All that’s required to bump a door open is a bump key and a tool such as a screwdriver or hammer. Bump keys look a lot like a regular key, and anyone can easily purchase them online for about $25. The bump key is inserted into the key cylinder, tapped a few times with the hammer or screwdriver, and voila! The key turns and unlocks the door. The brief news commentary below demonstrates the problem:
There are a couple options for protecting yourself and your home against lock bumping. There are a number of bump proof locks available on the market today, ranging in price from as little as $80 to as much as $200. Price shouldn’t necessarily be the deciding factor in which one you choose. Consider ease of use and maximum security. A truly “bump proof” lock should have no keyway on the outside. No place to insert a bump key means it can’t be bumped.
A less expensive option would be a retrofit product that can be added to your existing deadbolt. There are a number of different products like this on the market. The one we recommend is the Lock Jaw, which retails for about $30. This product is attached to the inside of your door, just above the thumb turn of the deadbolt, and it essentially turns any ordinary deadbolt into a bump proof lock.
Please visit Home Products ‘n’ More for more information on lock bumping or to purchase the Lock Jaw.
0 Responses to “Lock Bumping: What You Need to Know to Protect Yourself”