Did you know that your house key could be bought on the Internet, letting criminals of all shapes and sizes into your home anytime they wanted? No, probably not. That’s the sort of thing that happens in crime novels, not real life. But the police (and your homeowners insurance) know that all today’s criminals have to do is go out on the web and not only do they have access to one of the locksmith community’s best secrets, they also have handy “how-to” guides to show them how to get into your home without letting anyone know they’ve even been there. Have you ever heard of a bump key? Lock bumping is a technique that locksmiths have been using for the better part of a century to quickly disassemble a lock and allow them to either fix it or gain access to whatever it is that the lock was locking up. Unfortunately, bump keys aren’t a well kept secret anymore. Homeowners insurance providers and security providers are doing their best to educate today’s homeowners on the potential dangers of bump keys. The principle is simple. In a standard pin tumbler lock, such as the type found on the doors of most homes and apartments, the lock is made up of a series of spring loaded stacks called pin stacks. When a key is slipped into the lock the pins line up along the edge, allowing the cylinder to turn and the door to open. A bump key is a standard key that has been filed down. Criminals simply slip the bump key into the lock one notch short of full insertion, then “bump” the key with a hammer or other hard object. The impact causes the pins to jump, creating a small window in which the lock can be turned without damaging it. Even a criminal with little experience (and even less common sense) can enter your home without leaving any signs of breaking and entering behind. There are things that you as a homeowner can do to protect your home against criminals using bump keys. First, recognize that well made pin tumbler locks are more vulnerable to lock bumping because the pins are designed to move smoothly, allowing the lock to open easily when a cheaper lock would jam. Electronic locks, magnetic locks and locks that use rotating discs aren’t vulnerable to lock bumping, and because the bump key has to have the same blank profile as the lock it’s made to open in order to work restricted or registered key profiles are safer. (As opposed to the keys you can go to WalMart and purchase for less than a dollar.) The danger to homeowners comes in the ready availability of bump keys to today’s criminals. Bump keys for many different types of locks are sold on the web for anywhere from $1 to $200, depending on the type of lock it’s intended to open. There are a number of videos on YouTube that readily show criminals how to use this simple lock picking device, and even the recent features done on the process by today’s news channels have opened the door to more information than the average criminal needs to get into your home. Talk to your security company today about protecting yourself from the danger of lock bumping keys. Everyone in your house will sleep better when you do.

The local news did a story on lock bumping, and I found it so alarming I thought I’d find out more and pass it along… Chances are, your home’s front door is vulnerable to a crime that can be accomplished by a novice: lock bumping. With a specially cut “bump key” and the well-timed whack of a hammer, someone can surreptitiously enter your home and leave no obvious sign of a break-in. Check out this video where a guy tells you how to make and use a bump key. Videos like this are a dime a dozen on the internet, and so are ready-to-use bump keys. The bad news about the internet rears it’s ugly head… The bump key, used legitimately by locksmiths for decades, is designed to momentarily force upward the internal pins that secure the lock, freeing the lock to turn just as if the correct key were used. For as little as $3, a bump key can now be ordered online from numerous Web sites offering what is really nothing more than a burglary tool. The growing online lock-bumping phenomenon has made such an impact that some top lock manufacturers have dedicated sections of their Web sites to the topic. They tout their most sophisticated (and often more expensive, of course) locks as “bump-resistant.” “A motivated individual with some time and very little skill can learn to ‘bump’ open most conventional locks with relative ease,” one lock manufacturer’s Web site warns. Using the bump key requires a little finesse, and burglars often don’t want to take the time to do that. Ergo it is still far more common, police say, for break-ins to occur through a rear sliding-glass door. Here’s what crime prevention experts recommend for your front door: • Deadbolts that extend at least an inch when locked. • A lock with multi-layered locking mechanisms, such as a sidebar that prevents the plug from rotating. • A burglar alarm. • A second lock, to make it more time-consuming to bump. • A slide lock, used while you’re home, to back up your main lock. Consider consulting a reputable locksmith on whether your existing lock is secure, as it could be retrofitted or upgraded to a brand that has proven effective against lock bumping.

Lock Bumping Key The lock bumping key has been around for a while now. Locksmiths in Denmark shared a technique for knocking or bumping on a lock cylinder while applying slight presure to the back of the lock plug. When the pins jump inside the lock cylinder, the plug is able to slide out freely and disassemble the lock quickly. The use of a lock bumping key was not introduced until some time later and was first recognized as a potential home security or lock security issue around 2002-2003 in Europe. This internet has given lock picking hobbiest and theafts easy access to lock bumping keys and lock bumping how to's. You can now find videos on:

• how to make a lock bumping key
• how to us bump keys
• bump key how to make
• how to bump key a lock
• how to make a bump key from blank

It is just amazing what people are learning online. When I first learned about lock bumping there where only a few sites out there that you could get information from. But that has all changed now. For more information on the lock bumping key you can visit this public website on lock bumping at Lock Bumping .org

Kwikset Bump Key

Bump keys can unlock around 90% of the doors in America. Each lock manufacture is essence will have it's own bump key. For instance if your door has a kwikset lock then only a Kwikset bump key will work on a kwikset lock.

A Kwikset bump key is pictured below:

For more information on lock bumping and bump keys you can visist this public website at Lock Bumping .org