PLEASE RESTEEM (share)!
The information included here is NOT to be used for criminal activity (and I realize that criminals either already know, or have access to, this information). My goal is to warn regular people, even emergency responders, so they can take steps to prevent crime by improving their security. Locks do not keep you secure from those who know!
TIPS TO ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS AND SPOOKS TO ENTER
If you do these things, you're guaranteed to be robbed sooner rather than later. This applies to homes, offices, filing cabinets, construction sites, and more! I.E. do the opposite if you want to improve your security!
- Post pictures of your keys online. Make sure to show yourself, the house and your address as well. Also, make sure that the picture of the keys is highly focused and on a dark background. This is Erica Fernandez, a famous Indian - I hope she changed the keys to her new house!
Make sure your address is easy to determine. Share it often on social media.- Make sure that your devices broadcast the location of every family member at all times to social media so that criminals know when your home is empty.
- Install pet doors that are large and cannot be locked.
Position your security system and valuables where they are visible from a window or windowed door. It doesn't matter if it's near or far - a good thief will come with a telescopic lens or camera.
- Don't put up security system warning signs by every outside door and window.
- Leave windows unlocked. Better yet, leave everything unlocked and opened, especially if you live in an upscale community.
Discourage neighborhood watch programs.- Leave your digital car key/fob near a window! That way they can use it to open your car remotely!
- Never cover the VIN (Vehicle ID #) on your vehicle, so that the VIN can be "borrowed" to steal cars (especially true of older cars).
- Use Linear and DoorKing security boxes because they use one standard key for most of their boxes. A lot of key boxes for service/maintenance entry do, too.
- Don't install cameras, especially door cameras.
- Use door handles instead of door knobs because they're easily opened using a long wire, rod or roll of film.
Never install the door handle so that it points straight down or up! This also shows a device you should never use to lock your door handle because that would stop the thief from opening the door from outside using a special tool.- Use an inside knob for the lock so that they can turn it.
- Make sure there's a big enough gap between the door frame and door so that a thief can slip in a tool to pull back the latch with a hook or wire.
- Don't install a door latch protector or wrap-around plate.
- Make sure that there's a big gap between the threshold/sill/saddle (bottom of door frame) and the bottom of the door. It'll make it easy for them to slip their tool inside to pull the door handle.
- Don't install a dynamic door bottom plunger (attack prevention)!
-
NEVER install a shroud around a door handle!
Source: video
This is a sliding door guide which keeps a door handle from being pulled up. If you use one of these with the door plunger, a thief won't be able to pull the handle! - Never install security hinges or replace hinge screws with security pins. This allows them to easily remove your door by pushing out the hinge pins if the door opens outward and the hinges are unprotected!
Use a standard key type that comes in a batches (keyed-alike lock sets) that are identifiable from the packaging you throw away.source: i.ebayimg.com/images/g/m3wAAOSwri5bkx4y/s-l1600.jpg
- Let other people have access to your keys (valets, for example, or just about anyone else) so they can duplicate them with a clay mold, photograph them or measure the bitting (the depth of each part of the key shaft that moves the pins/wafers in the lock), or even go to a locksmith.
Use plastic locks. They love them!- Use padlocks that aren't hardened, have a key code on them or just about any brand because they're easy to open, especially those with a combination (numbers/letters).
source: www.tester.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/2/thumbnail/75x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/m/a/masterlock-1500-combination-padlock-back.jpg
Many can be shimmed open by putting a thin piece of metal down into the shackle area to release the lock. Also, for regular padlocks, shoving a wire up through the keyhole can release the lock mechanism (if it doesn't have a protective wall to block that). If the metal is truly hardened, running a metal-cutting sawblade over it a few times won't scratch it.Masterlock source: cdn.instructables.com/FR1/Z8JH/GVSUMKJQ/FR1Z8JHGVSUMKJQ.LARGE.jpg?auto=webp
- Definitely use the same lock cylinders on all doors, cabinets, etc. Never replace any of your lock cylinders with different cylinders. Or, better yet, use different locks that have a master key for all of them. The less variety in locks, the happier the intruders!
- Never buy non-standard locks as this may foil a lockpicker.
- Use common locks that take widely used keys like the following:
C415A
Linear A126
CH751, which is used on a plethora of locks, [including the majority of outside compartments of an RV](https://shoprvlocks.com/), key lock-boxes, security boxes, power boxes, circuit breaker boxes, time clocks, thermostat security boxes, controller door covers, etc.
H2341 jackpot reset and diagnostic key
Fire alarm, notifier, test and radio keys
TPX83 gas pump key, which allows criminals to install a card skimmer inside of gas pumps in order to steal your credit card info!
1284x police force cars (Crown Victorias) and taxis, as well as other fleet vehicles
EK333
222343
DoorKing 16120, 1997-present
Linear AK-11
VM Universal
Gas valve key
D137CLC In-room standard safe key
Detex DT1 to DT30 door alarm battery door key for ECL230 door alarms
Simplex B/CAT 30 fire alarm key
CC1 golf/electric cart (including in airports)
SP8500 Caterpillar construction equipment (most common).
501CH, elevator key, Husky toolboxes (including pickups), Siemens, Schindler, ChicagoLock, Hudson, ESP, machine cabinets, arcade games, slot machines, key switches.
It gets scarier...
J200 elevator key
SC1000 South Carolina fire service elevator key
USPS Arrow key to open apartment mailboxes and USPS key keepers (key lock boxes to access a building).
FEO-K1, the elevator fire-service key, which appear to be the same key as the BFD-1 (used by Connecticut for fire service) and the MFD-1.
FEOK1CC is the same as above, but counter-clockwise, pre-2008.
Fire Department key to open key keeper Knox security boxes, gates
AZFS: Arizona elevator fire service.
1620 fire service elevator key
2642 fire service elevator key
In many fire service elevator locks, both the 1620 and the 2642 will work because the functional bitting for both is 642 (the first and last bittings arne't used). This is a Yale key, but you can use 16 different Kwikset keys for it because of similarities and the sloppy design of the lock!
(source: video)
A lot of these keys are openly available on eBay, Amazon and key sellers like this one (although that site does claim to only sell to authorized personnel and has a procedure to prevent unauthorized purchase), where it even shows which state or area uses some keys, plus documents online detail which municipality uses what key and sometimes even gives the bitting code!
If you see ANY of these keys on your key rings, that access point (or, more likely, points) is vulnerable, and criminals and spooks everywhere are grateful! The uses I've listed are just examples and are not exhaustive (think of anything that has a key, like a supply cabinet, medicine cabinet, chemical cabinet, etc.)!
Criminals/spooks (and locksmiths, physical penetration testers, police, firefighters, etc.) carry these nifty tools:
KNIPEX TwinKey 8-arm control cabinet key, for use with most control cabinet latches and facilities engineering components such as water and gas shut-offs! (4) internal square keys (5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11mm), (3) internal triangle keys (7-8, 9-10, 11-12mm), double bit key, D-key, 4-step external square key (6 to 9mm) and reversible Phillips/slotted driver bit
Knipex universal key:
Or maybe this one, which includes the FEO-K1, EK333, 222343, C415A, CH751, 16120, 1284X and jigglers!
There's a whole lot more; just for Hubbell-Wiegmann locks, you can see many of their master keys.
construction equipment masters
Let's not forget to leave a universal handcuff key lying about in case the poor thief gets caught!
Locksmiths used to use books to find out what key they needed to open a lock after you locked yourself out, unless it was an industry standard one. Now, apps are available that take all those books and numbers and put them on your device. With the numbers on the key (which are either the bitting code or the reference number that's in the book), you can look up the bitting code and make a key.
(source: video)
How many seconds does it take a pro to take a photo or make a mold of a key? Or even use a key gauge to get the bitting numbers for a key?
DO NOT post images of your keys ANYWHERE, or let anyone photograph them, especially if they have numbers like these, unless you obscure the numbers and the contour.
(source: video)
The numbers tell a person the exact info they need to produce a duplicate of your key! If a criminal has a chart and there are no numbers, they can figure out those numbers from the photo! You're giving away the security of whatever your keys are for! You might as well leave everything unlocked if you share a "pocket dump" that has keys in it, or show a photo of your key on a locksmith site (or any other site).It doesn't really matter what kind of key it is, either...If the criminals see the numbers or the contour, they don't need lockpicks.
(source: video)
If the numbers aren't visible, they can use a graph to determine the depth of each bitting and make a key from that with blanks in the comfort of their own home, or even onsite.Then again, standard locks from famous brands can often be opened with a bump key!
Remember, it takes about 5 seconds to take a quality photo or mold of your key, and about 2 minutes to make a key using a Schlage Pac-A-Punch tool, which is small and eminently portable.
Oh, but wait, it gets better, because there are apps that will immediately give you the bitting numbers or the combination code for a key you photograph or a lock number, or if you have a vehicle's VIN, you might get the bitting code that way, or even 3D print a copy of a key from a photo!
Here are some tips to help you know about car theft (some are a bit outdated).
Main sources:
And, just for good measure, there's a lot out there about padlocks and how easy it is to open them. Here's one video just to make you aware.
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Images are copyright their source URL (which is embedded in this article), except certain images I cut from the above videos, which belongs to Deviant Ollam and Howard Payne. Certain images are from Pixabay and are free-use.