Did you read the blog post of the woman who got locked out and called a locksmith who scammed her? Actually, she was scammed twice and didn’t even know it. The original quote was a $45 service fee and $39 for the cheapest lock (very reasonable). After arriving the “locksmith” said it would cost $185 to drill out the high-security Arrow lock. (Not sure from the story if it was $185 additional or included with the service fee and lock price.)
UH-OH!
SCAM #1 So which do you think is harder to do? Drill out a lock or pick it open? Anyone with a drill can drill out a lock. Picking locks takes skill, knowledge, time and specialized tools. Picking locks is not like it is shown on television. Since the locksmith told her the price would be $89 ($45 + $39) for the call, why would it cost another $96 to drill out a lock?
SCAM #2 Well, okay, so there is no way this woman would have known this, but Arrow Lock Company does NOT make high-security locks for residential purposes. It’s something any legitimate locksmith would know. So if that was the locksmith’s excuse for the high drill fee, he was being dishonest about his exorbitant fee.
The original blog was located at: http://asmor.livejournal.com/552384.html but when I rechecked it recently, it was not available.
Anyway, it should be noted that many times it is necessary to drill out a lock – especially if it has been damaged, corroded, is bump or pick-proof or is just not pickable. Since residential locks are made of cheaper material, corrosion is a common event in humid climates such as Florida especially in coastal areas where moisture, salt and sand all combine. About 35% of the locks we attempt to pick open have to be drilled out.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sex Offender Locksmiths
You’ve just locked yourself and your children out of your home.
You borrowed a neighbor’s phone book, picked out a locksmith and called him.
What are the chances you've just called a sex offender working as a locksmith?
How safe would you feel after he left?
Think it can't happen? Think again.
Anyone can unintentionally call someone of disreputable character in states that do not require licensing for locksmiths.
In June 2008, WHAS 11 NEWS in Kentucky had an investigative report about just such a locksmith. The story is no longer available on their website, so I’ve summarized it here:
Registered child sex offender Charles Raisor opened up Charlie’s Locksmith and Maintenance Company in Shelbyville, Kentucky. If that was not bad enough, Raisor hired another registered child sex offender who had also been convicted of drug possession and carrying a gun by a convicted felon.
Raisor was operating as any locksmith would – unlocking doors, and rekeying or installing new locks - securing people’s homes and businesses. The fact that he had a secret any parent would need to know didn’t seem to bother him. Two months prior to the television station’s report, Raisor had been charged with failing to comply with the sex offender registry and violating sex offender residence restrictions. But he wasn’t in jail when the news channel found him. He was out working.
Apparently there are no occupational restrictions against convicted sex offenders owning locksmith businesses since there are no locksmith licensing laws in Kentucky or in Florida for that matter. Such laws would require State and Federal fingerprint and criminal background checks.
Since city and county business registration personnel do NOT cross-check business registrations with the sex offender database, consumers must do all they can to investigate before inviting someone into their home or business.
You borrowed a neighbor’s phone book, picked out a locksmith and called him.
What are the chances you've just called a sex offender working as a locksmith?
How safe would you feel after he left?
Think it can't happen? Think again.
Anyone can unintentionally call someone of disreputable character in states that do not require licensing for locksmiths.
In June 2008, WHAS 11 NEWS in Kentucky had an investigative report about just such a locksmith. The story is no longer available on their website, so I’ve summarized it here:
Registered child sex offender Charles Raisor opened up Charlie’s Locksmith and Maintenance Company in Shelbyville, Kentucky. If that was not bad enough, Raisor hired another registered child sex offender who had also been convicted of drug possession and carrying a gun by a convicted felon.
Raisor was operating as any locksmith would – unlocking doors, and rekeying or installing new locks - securing people’s homes and businesses. The fact that he had a secret any parent would need to know didn’t seem to bother him. Two months prior to the television station’s report, Raisor had been charged with failing to comply with the sex offender registry and violating sex offender residence restrictions. But he wasn’t in jail when the news channel found him. He was out working.
Apparently there are no occupational restrictions against convicted sex offenders owning locksmith businesses since there are no locksmith licensing laws in Kentucky or in Florida for that matter. Such laws would require State and Federal fingerprint and criminal background checks.
Since city and county business registration personnel do NOT cross-check business registrations with the sex offender database, consumers must do all they can to investigate before inviting someone into their home or business.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Call a locksmith, get a con artist!
Okay, so you need a local locksmith. Quick!
Using your phone directory or a city internet search, what’s the chances of you unintentionally calling a scam artist, an out-of-state company posing as a local locksmith or a pedophile in business for him-or-herself rather than finding a registered locksmith?
Don’t know? Well, let’s try my city – Altamonte Springs, FL – a city of approximately 40,000 people.
Monica McConaghy, the Business Tax Administrator of Altamonte Springs, printed off a list of just 4 registered locksmiths – that’s F-O-U-R. She said occupational licenses are now called business tax registrations. Of the four locksmiths, one has a storefront and the other three are mobile - one of which is our company, Martin Security Group, Inc. AKA www.a-florida-locksmith.com
Three different LOCAL phone books, however, say something else. According to them, there are 57 individually-named locksmiths in Altamonte. You have to search among 1791 listings to find them all. (Yes, I did count every single one of them.)
As far as internet search results for Altamonte locksmiths go – well, I quit counting at 377 (out of thousands). With all the map spam, blog spam and fake ads (with none-existence addresses) by out-of-state companies posing as locals as well as Florida locksmiths using multiple names, it was time-consuming trying to find those four Altamonte locksmiths in a city search. The search term I used was - Locksmith Altamonte Springs, Fl.
The fact that I knew exactly who I was looking for should have made it easy, but I only found two. Our family's website (www.a-florida-locksmith.com) and free classified ads were listed on the first two Google search pages as was a link for one other registered-in-Altamonte-locksmith, Liberty Locksmiths.
But Google’s first 2 pages also included listings or ads for 47 other locksmiths all claiming to be Altamonte locksmiths. No wonder people are confused.
Many of the listings/ads are either directories or bogus call-center listings with local or 800 numbers. Clicking on the directories gets you nowhere since, again, mostly what is listed are all the bogus call-center listings.
All four Altamonte businesses are registered with the state and when they registered with the City of Altamonte Springs, they were automatically registered with Seminole County. Locksmiths who take the time to legally register are usually people who have invested time in training as well as money in equipment, supplies and vehicles. They work hard to provide good service and want repeat business. They are not going to scam you.
Legitimate locksmiths, whether they have a storefront or are just mobile, generally work within a 50-mile radius of their base. This usually encompasses 2 or more counties and listing every city or community they work in on their website is normal and expected. However, if you see a website that lists every city in the state, you should be suspicious.
So what are your chances of getting scammed or someone disreputable having the keys to your home, business or vehicle? Pretty high, I believe.
Using your phone directory or a city internet search, what’s the chances of you unintentionally calling a scam artist, an out-of-state company posing as a local locksmith or a pedophile in business for him-or-herself rather than finding a registered locksmith?
Don’t know? Well, let’s try my city – Altamonte Springs, FL – a city of approximately 40,000 people.
Monica McConaghy, the Business Tax Administrator of Altamonte Springs, printed off a list of just 4 registered locksmiths – that’s F-O-U-R. She said occupational licenses are now called business tax registrations. Of the four locksmiths, one has a storefront and the other three are mobile - one of which is our company, Martin Security Group, Inc. AKA www.a-florida-locksmith.com
Three different LOCAL phone books, however, say something else. According to them, there are 57 individually-named locksmiths in Altamonte. You have to search among 1791 listings to find them all. (Yes, I did count every single one of them.)
As far as internet search results for Altamonte locksmiths go – well, I quit counting at 377 (out of thousands). With all the map spam, blog spam and fake ads (with none-existence addresses) by out-of-state companies posing as locals as well as Florida locksmiths using multiple names, it was time-consuming trying to find those four Altamonte locksmiths in a city search. The search term I used was - Locksmith Altamonte Springs, Fl.
The fact that I knew exactly who I was looking for should have made it easy, but I only found two. Our family's website (www.a-florida-locksmith.com) and free classified ads were listed on the first two Google search pages as was a link for one other registered-in-Altamonte-locksmith, Liberty Locksmiths.
But Google’s first 2 pages also included listings or ads for 47 other locksmiths all claiming to be Altamonte locksmiths. No wonder people are confused.
Many of the listings/ads are either directories or bogus call-center listings with local or 800 numbers. Clicking on the directories gets you nowhere since, again, mostly what is listed are all the bogus call-center listings.
All four Altamonte businesses are registered with the state and when they registered with the City of Altamonte Springs, they were automatically registered with Seminole County. Locksmiths who take the time to legally register are usually people who have invested time in training as well as money in equipment, supplies and vehicles. They work hard to provide good service and want repeat business. They are not going to scam you.
Legitimate locksmiths, whether they have a storefront or are just mobile, generally work within a 50-mile radius of their base. This usually encompasses 2 or more counties and listing every city or community they work in on their website is normal and expected. However, if you see a website that lists every city in the state, you should be suspicious.
So what are your chances of getting scammed or someone disreputable having the keys to your home, business or vehicle? Pretty high, I believe.
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