Signs Someone’s Meddled With Your Lock

Everyone wants to be safe in their home and having sturdy, trusted locks on your doors and windows is one way to increase your peace of mind. Although it’s often clear if you become a victim of a burglary when valuables are taken, it can be more difficult to detect someone who might be meddling with your locks, in hopes of finding an opportunity to steal at a later time.

According to the FBI, roughly 7.7 million property crimes are committed each year. The team at Lockout Locksmiths wants you to be aware of the signs of lock meddling so you can better protect your family and belongings in your Michigan home.

Forced Entry

This method is probably the most easy to detect as perpetrators often don’t take care to hide their attempts. Signs of forced entry may include drill evidence around a deadbolt, bent or broken locks, and marks or damaged doors. Look for signs that lock fixtures have been moved from uneven paint or loose screws as well as warping around doors and frames.

Bumping Locks

Bumping locks involve filing down the teeth of a key into a miniature saw, which creates a bump key. The key is inserted into the lock and withdrawn one click at a time, which is followed by a bump that secures each lock tumbler in succession. Signs of bumping may include small nicks around the keyhole or warped pins and bolts.

Picking Locks

Just like in the movies, thieves can pick a lock using small tools inserted into the keyhole. Essentially, an individual can pick a lock by raking the pin tumblers one at a time with a flat screwdriver or similar tool. Picking can be difficult to detect, but may leave tiny scratch marks near the keyhole.

Protection Strategy

One of the best ways to protect your Michigan home is to upgrade your locks or change them regularly. Today, you can install hybrid locks that are a combination of a digital mechanism and mechanical bolts, which do not solely use pins and tumblers. Sliding bolts can prevent a deadbolt from being turned from the inside even if it is unlocked.

In addition, you can take some common sense precautions like creating a neighborhood watch or simply having a good relationship with those who live next door. Installing motion detector lights or just having a well-lit yard can discourage would-be thieves as well as having a guard dog.

Investing in smart lock technology is certainly another option growing in popularity as well, although widespread, cost effective options are not yet available in many cases.

Many companies also offer home security systems that can provide 24/7 video monitoring or trigger an alarm that notifies the place as soon as a break-in occurs.

If you’re ready to update your locks or want additional information about home safety, contact Lockout Locksmiths in Ferndale, Michigan. Our professional team is standing by at 248-321-2244 or feel free to contact us online!