Only 5% of locksmiths listed in 3 Central Florida phone directories are legitimate, 15% for a 1-page Internet search

Dell Sterling, a Colorado locksmith, was interviewed for a story on locksmith fraud by Denver Post reporter Anthony Bowe. According to Sterling, up to three-fourths of the locksmith listings in phone and internet directories are from a handful of shady firms operating under dozens of names and phone numbers.

That means he believes 25 percent of locksmiths listed are legitimate. I think his number is high especially when he’s including Internet listings. But not having seen any of Denver’s phone directories, we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.

I have, however, seen the three phone directories in Central Florida published by Embarq, AT&T and Verizon. With a total 1791 locksmith listings and only 88 legitimately registered locksmiths, that’s a rate of 5 percent. However, since all the legitimate locksmiths are listed at least once in each directory that would bring the total rate to about 15 percent, if you look in all 3 books and who’s going to do that?

As for the Internet, I checked every link on the first page of a Google search for a locksmith in my own city of Altamonte Springs. There are 31 ads and listings – only 5 locksmith listings are legitimately registered in Seminole or Orange County. So that breaks down to about a rate of 16 percent for the Internet.

My survey broke down as follows for the 31 ads/listings:

Legit - Position of ads/listing on 1st page of Google search
0 --- Top 3 Featured Google ads were all bogus or call centers
1 --- Only 1 of the 10 map ads (A-J) lead to a legitimate locksmith
2 --- Only 2 of the 8 side ads were legit, plus there was 1 school, 1 directory
2 --- 10 listings: 2 legitimate locksmiths, 4 directories, 4 bogus locksmiths

The 4 directory ads led to the same process over again - bogus and legitimate locksmith ads and listings together. Will discuss the directories in another blog.

Two of the questionable locksmith ads actually had local Altamonte addresses, so my husband and I went on a field trip. The first locksmith had the name 24 Hour 1 Day Altamonte Springs Emergency Locksmith. (Geez, don’t think you could squeeze in any more keywords into that name.) Their address on Miller Drive was actually a restaurant supply company that had never heard of them.

The second locksmith, Mack’s Locksmith Service, was legit until December when his state and county registrations ran out. We called the owner Bob Jacko when we couldn't find his street location. He told us it was the address for his storage unit. Jacko is legally registered in Orange County as Bob Jacko Locksmith in Apopka. Since Seminole County is a reciprocal county, Jacko's Orange County registration is perfectly legal.

Investigating Locksmiths? Moi?

I know. I know. The title of my blog is The Locksmith Investigator, but that is really not what I’m doing. Genuine locksmiths don’t need to be investigated. Those who legally register with the state, county and city are doing every thing right.

What I am investigating are the phony “locksmiths” or “locksmith” companies. I hate to even use the word “locksmith” with these scam artists. These are those who are out there preying on the public -- like the company who posted the following ad on Craig’s List. (Craig’s List has since removed the ad).

Locksmith (No Experience - OK) (Minneapolis+St Poul)

March 15, 2009
Filed under Skilled Trades

We are looking for high motivated individuals who would like to establish a business relation with a nationwide company who can provide up to 30-40 service call a week on a 24/7 basis. our business model includes : subcontracting the Jobs to you, and you will receive a percentage of every invoice. Expected income, based on our subcontractors all over the Major US cities, will be 1000-1500 a week. we will cover 50 % of the travel expenses for the training. Locksmiths with experience are well-come to answer this add as well.

So let me see if I read this right. This national company wants to sub-contract locksmithing jobs out to inexperienced locksmiths?

An inexperienced sub-contractor is NOT a locksmith!!!

He’s just a guy with a drill who drills out perfectly good locks because he has no skills or tools with which to pick them open. He then replaces them with junk which he calls a high-security product so he can overcharge the consumer.

Okay, so how do I investigate phony locksmiths? Since the call centers change sub-contractors frequently, tracking down the sub-contractors won’t help. Listing call centers and the various names they use would help, but the best course of action, I believe, would be to list all the genuine locksmiths out there.

If people had the truth, it’s not likely they will choose a fake. But first, I had to find the genuine locksmiths -- and I did. I knew the tax collector was the best keeper of that information. Now all I needed was to speak to the right person in his office.

After two days of phone tag with three very helpful Orange County staff members, I finally did speak to the right person and he sent me a file with the information I needed. Thank you, Joe Giovanelli! Of course, I still have to sort through 1114 pages to find the answers I need, but I’ll work on that over the next few days.

Hope to have time to get updated information from Seminole County this week. Last year there were 21 registered locksmiths. I had to actually go to the county services building at the opposite end of the county from where I live to get the information, so I know it's not easy for consumers to find the answers. Hope to have some answers soon on how many actually locksmiths are in these two counties. We know there are 1791 phone listings, so this should be interesting.