Story Published:
Feb 14, 2007 at 11:36 PM PST
Eugene - It's quick and it's easy. It's called lock bumping and it's a problem because it leaves virtually every home vulnerable to thieves who have the right key.
"The average home is 200, 300, 400 thousand dollars and they're protecting all their content inside with a 10 dollar or 15 dollar lock," T.C. Curtis, a professional safe cracker and lock smith said.
What started out as a trade secret among lock smiths and safe crackers has leaked out. The scariest part--even someone who has never picked a lock can do it effortlessly.
Curtis says, several local businesses have already been bumped and he tells his customers, it's no laughing matter. "They're actually calling us chuckling, like it's a big joke. Unfortunately, some of the commercial industries have already gotten some of this and they've switched their locks to high-security locks," Curtis said.
Locks like Mul-T-Locks. They have keys that cannot be copied--even lock smiths can't break into them. And they cannot be bumped.
Eugene Police also offer words of advice, saying common sense can go a long way. "Thieves are criminals of opportunity. They'll try a door and if it's open, they'll go in," Sgt. Rich Stronach said.
Other tips:
-Make sure your front door is well lit
-One-sided dead bolts are also a good idea
-Get to know your neighbors
"If you're going to be going out of town, tell your neighbor so they can watch the place," Sgt. Stronach added.
As for Curtis, he's not taking any chances. Both his home and his business are protected with high-security locks. "We've already had business coming in from people seeing it. That's how serious it is," he said.
High security locks are more expensive than normal locks. They range from 150 to 180 dollars.
