Theives use Bump Keys

[Oliver]

From WESH-TV, Florida (http://www.wesh.com/news/10224422/detail.html?taf=orl):

 

Thieves Using Secret Weapons To Break Into Homes

 

POSTED: 4:09 pm EST November 2, 2006

UPDATED: 10:49 am EST November 3, 2006

 

Many people have been reporting that thieves broke in; stole their TVs, stereos, computers and cash; and then disappeared, leaving no trace they were even there.

 

WESH 2 I-Team reporter Stephen Stock has uncovered a pattern of these crimes popping up across Central Florida, and he reported that every homeowner needs to take action right now.

 

It's a phenomenon about which even the police know little. It's one that's been kept a dirty little secret among thieves, locksmiths and experts for decades.

 

But it's now coming to light thanks to the Internet, and it could cost people the loss of everything they own if they don't take precautions.

 

This summer, newlyweds Glynda and Jerry Arroyo's new life in paradise suddenly was stolen.

 

"A week in, I get robbed. I said, 'I want to go home,'" Glynda Arroyo said.

 

A burglar broke into their Courtney Springs apartment, taking more than $5,000 worth of possessions.

 

"Two Apple computers, an antique necklace (that's) irreplaceable," Glynda Arroyo said.

 

Across the hall, Nathan and Karrie Jensen discovered that they too had been hit.

 

"It kind of feels (like we were) violated," Karrie Jensen said.

 

"It's kind of crappy," Nathan Jensen said.

 

"Like, you feel that you had no control over the situation," Karrie Jensen said.

 

Fifty miles away, a thief took $2,000 worth of Mike Kuftic's stuff.

 

"I couldn't believe that somebody could just be able to walk right in here like nothing was happening, and nobody knew it was happening," he said.

 

In fact, from Port Orange to Winter Springs and from Orange City to Clearwater, the I-Team has uncovered a pattern of burglaries stretching across Central Florida.

 

At least 50 different Central Florida apartments and homes were burglarized during the last year alone -- often in the middle of the day.

 

The most the thief took was $29,000 worth of possessions from a local apartment.

 

"They were all consistent. All the burglaries were the same," said Capt. Mike Nolan of the Winter Springs Police Department.

 

And each time the burglar left behind nothing, no trace that the crook had even been there. The windows were intact, doors were untouched and the locks weren't picked.

 

Police believe the burglars did it with something called a bump key. It's a key that is specially made and ground down just right. It can open nearly every mechanical lock ever made.

 

"This is something that we need to take very seriously," said Cmdr. Tim Girard of the Port Orange Police Department.

 

But for more than 50 years, the bump key has remained a well-kept secret among burglars and locksmiths.

 

In fact, until, most experts didn't want the public to know about bump keys because once they learn the technique, they can break into just about any mechanical lock in seconds.

 

"It is really, really easy," said Seth Posner of AA Loc Doc in Ocala. "If you do it right, no lock can stop you. And that's the scary part."

 

Many people wouldn't be able to spot a bump key if they had it in their hand.

 

To the untrained eye, a set of bump keys looks no different than regular keys, but in the wrong hands, they could open millions of locks all around the world.

 

"Bump key. I didn't know what a bump key was until now," Nathan Jensen said.

 

Jensen isn't alone. Many police departments are in the dark, too.

 

In fact, when the I-Team checked with two dozen property crime detectives, only three of them had even heard of a bump key.

 

So little is known in the law enforcement community about bump-keying that the I-Team had to search all the way to Camden, S.C., to find one of the world's foremost authority on the practice.

 

"This was the old hotel thief's trick," said Lee Griggs.

 

Griggs guards all of the secrets about bump keys in his home office in South Carolina.

 

"It takes practice," he said.

 

"But no real skill?" Stock asked.

 

"No real skill," Griggs said.

 

"You were doing it when you were 12?" Stock asked.

 

"Yeah," Griggs said.

 

He said the technique is so easy that he could spend three minutes showing a child on the street how to use it and the child could do it right away.

 

Griggs is a forensic locksmith. He has testified as an expert in trials around the country.

 

In fact, police said it was Griggs who looked at locks from burglarized apartments in Central Florida, and he was the one who first alerted police that a bump key thief was at work burglarizing apartments and homes like in communities from Clearwater to Ormond Beach.

 

"It's troubling, isn't it?" Stock asked Girard.

 

"It is because it represents a real threat -- a threat that is kind of new, that is difficult to adjust to quickly," Girard said.

 

The experts said people need to make adjustments to take precautions now.

 

"You're not the only one with a key to your house, and you need to realize that," Glynda Arroyo said.

 

Police believe a security camera in one Pinellas County apartment actually caught several pictures of the bump key thief. Police said he may have been involved in Port Orange and Winter Springs bump key burglaries.

 

So, what can you do to protect yourself from a bump key thief?

 

Posner had three recommendations.

 

First of all, on all of your important locks, replace them with electronic or an electronic/mechanical combination. These locks cannot be bumped.

 

Another option is to use simple sliding bolts on all of your interior doors. Then, leave through your garage by closing your electronic garage door behind you.

 

An even easier and cheaper option -- and probably the best one for apartment renters -- is to spray some WD-40 into the lock. This lubricates the pins, and while it doesn't make the lock bump-proof, it does enable the pins to move more freely and make it more difficult for a thief to actually bump the lock.

 

To add insult to injury, there have been cases where victims of bump keys ran into problems with their insurance company. Since bump key thieves leave no trace of a forced entry, some insurance companies have refused to pay.

 

The companies said there is no evidence the victims didn't fake the robberies and commit insurance fraud.

 

So, police said if you ever fall victim to a bump key thief, don't hesitate to call police and get an official investigator's report on record.

[88pathoffroad]

Old news, and you have to have a key made that way for each type of lock specifically. One key won't fit all locks, of course, and it doesn't work on auto locks AFAIK. There are auctions for bump key sets on Ebay as we speak, you can get a complete set of the most commonly available keys for about $15, ready to go.

[eglaisi_91pathy]

"It's kind of crappy"

 

Yeah, kinda...

[Slick]

there's a guy on ebay who sells them.. by the HUNDREDS...... nice huh

[Illusionist]

Old news

yeah i remember watching a video, can't remember where, but it was a interview with like a tea of lock pickers and explained, in very good detail how bump keys work and how to do it. pretty cool, even thought about getting some myself, but then thought twice about it! lol i'll look for a link and post it if anyone's interested

[turbopath]

it can be done to cars too...it just requires a more specific key. People will take a key, wear it down with something, and it will open many cars of the same model. Perhaps the more famous of these is the 91-95 saturns where one key can open them all for all 4 years with a little grinding.

Edited November 5, 2006 by turbopath

[unccpathfinder]

if u have a chevy...any door key will open any other chevy door key...(at least on trucks) :secret: sssh...this allowed me and a friend to open a buddies truck (z71 with a sonoma key) and get his spare key to his tool box out and remove his tire after he was too drunk to drive home and said he was going to anyways good thing he passed out and found it at 7 am and wasnt too pleased...

 

have also used it to open a S10...i donno if years are tied to this but i know it was a mid 90 somonoa and a 2001 z71 and the s10 was like a 98 or 99...but for most cars a slim jim on the pass side door is the fastest way...i just havent seemed to be able to get in my pathies yet with it...but i have gotten in grand prixs,rodeos,acuras and some other car i cant remember but she was hot and late for work (hooters) and was very thankful...

 

if they want it bad enough tho they'll just bust some glass and get in

 

 

but this i will have to try...i've had to break into about 6 apmts where friends locked themselves out (none dead bolted tho) all with my old win-dixie card...the 1 that i couldnt get in i kicked down broke the door handle frame and put a huge hole in the door (the heel of my boot goughed the handle slipped off and went thru the front side of the door and splintered the frame...it was pretty sweet cuze the guy is from england and talks pure @!*% to americans and how america sucks and blah blah so im kinda glad it slipped off and caused carnage (then he didnt wanna listen on how he could fix it without spending more than $40 so he bought a new frame and door for like $200)

Edited November 5, 2006 by unccpathfinder