Keep Your Home Secure During the Holidays - Make Sure You Have the Only Key to Your House

Nov. 29, 2010 - PRLog -- What would it do to your peace of mind if I told you any criminal could be in your house, without your knowledge, in under 30 seconds?

“How?” you’d probably ask.  It’s done with a bump key.  You might have read about these devious little tools on the Internet or heard about them on the evening news.  They’re one of the greatest threats (if not the greatest threat) to the security of your family’s home.

The process of lock bumping, discovered during the 1920′s but not widely known to the public (and criminals everywhere) until 2005, involves using a file to make a simple modification to a common house key.  This modification takes about 5 minutes.  

Using a bump key and a striking instrument, such as a mallet or even the handle of a screwdriver, an untrained criminal can be in your home in under 30 seconds, leaving no obvious evidence of a break-in.

In this video, a member of the Sensible Obvious Security team uses a bump key to enter a home.  He had less five minutes of instruction prior to shooting this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMjJ7ci4URU



A bump key can be used to defeat almost any door lock or deadbolt installed prior to 2005 and, indeed, many locks being manufactured and installed today remain vulnerable.  In about the same time that it would take you to open your door with a legitimate key, a criminal could be in your home, looting your valuables, or even worse, lying in wait, ready to make you or a loved ones the next victim of a violent crime.

Bump keys aren't hard to come by. They can be easily made in a matter of minutes using common tools found around the house. There are even video tutorials on the internet that show exactly how to do so.

The only way to protect yourself against this shockingly easy crime is to replace your locks with deadbolts that have Bump Guard technology. Sensible Obvious Security recommends and uses SmartKey by Kwikset locks, which make bump keys useless and protects your home.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit Sensible Obvious security at http://www.obviouslysecure.com, or call (703) 732-2964.

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Sensible Obvious Security provides a wide variety of home security services in the Washington D.C. area.

We are focused on making your home safer by adding additional security measures and updating those that are outdated and vulnerable to criminals.