Lock bumping: A new burglary threat

Using cheap tools and tips available online, thieves could probably get into your house in less than a minute. Most American homes are vulnerable to this spreading break-in technique.
By Claes Bell, Bankrate.com

Imagine a method of defeating the vast majority of American locks that can be learned in under an hour, uses tools that can be acquired on the Internet for less than $50 and, if done right, can be performed in less than a minute, leaving little or no trace of a break-in.

If you watch local news or spend time on the Internet, you may have heard alarming stories about a new way of picking a lock called lock bumping or key bumping. Security experts in Europe and, more recently, the United States have declared lock bumping a danger to anyone who secures their valuables with pin-tumbler locks, which happens to include the vast majority of American houses.

What is lock bumping?
Lock bumping is a way of opening a lock using a specially filed key that is the same size and shape as the key normally used in the lock. This special "bump" key is inserted into the lock and then struck with a tool made of rubber or plastic. The impact of the bump key on the tumblers inside the lock temporarily pushes them up, allowing the lock's cylinder to turn. This method, if done correctly, can open a lock quickly and with relatively little noise.

"The main concern is that it is so darn easy and that you don't need any special tools or training.
You only need a key, which in most cases is an easy thing to get," says Barry Wels, a founding member of The Open Organization of Lockpickers (TOOOL), a Dutch locksmiths club that has helped promote awareness of the technique among government officials and consumers. "If you take a motivated 15- or 16-year-old and give him an hour or two and $100 to invest in tools, he can open most locks."

To know whether your lock is vulnerable, just look at the key to your front door. Some of the most popular locks by manufacturers such as Schlage, Master, Yale and Kwikset may be susceptible to lock bumping. Other potential targets include recently built condos, apartments and subdivisions, where one lock manufacturer often supplies similar locks for every house in the community. A thief would have to gain access to only one key to be able to make a bump key that would open all the locks in the neighborhood.

Fact or fiction?
How common is this technique? It's hard to say how many of the more than 2 million burglaries that occurred in the U.S. in 2006 involved lock bumping. But there's no denying that with millions of American homes relying on the pin-tumbler locks that are so vulnerable -- and with how-to information and tool kits readily available on the Internet -- the potential for exploitation of this weakness is huge.

"It's been spreading in Europe ever since it came out on German television in 2004," Wels says. "It became popular for burglars in Germany."

Still, says Yaron Erez, a security expert with Vertex Security in Manhattan, the danger presented by key bumping may be overblown. The unpleasant truth, he says, is that almost all locks can be picked. Security personnel think in terms of the time and noise it takes to compromise a lock -- no matter how good the lock, it's a matter of when, not if.

"If somebody knows how to bump a lock, most likely he knows how to pick a lock as well," Erez says. "Bumping is a little faster and easier than other forms of lock picking, but that's all."

Anti-pick locks
There are locks available that are resistant to all kinds of picking, including bumping. High-end locks by manufacturers such as Medeco, Schlage, Assa Abloy and Mul-T-Lock are alternatives to the mass-produced, widely available locks that can easily fall prey to bumping. These premium locks incorporate more-complex, multilayered locking mechanisms and patented designs that allow manufacturers to control the number of blank keys that are produced.

Electronic locks, combination locks, magnetic locks and rotating-disc locks are other choices that are immune to lock bumping. Cylinder protectors, devices that cover the front of the lock to prevent tampering, are also an option.

Unfortunately, these premium locks also carry a premium price tag, especially when the fees charged by the professional locksmiths who install them are factored in. The hardware alone starts around $100 per lock.

Security systems
Erez recommends upgrading your locks to a bump-proof design but cautions against relying entirely on any type of lock.

"Locks are just one part of the total security picture," Erez says. "There are so many ways to get into a free-standing private home: windows, garages, patio doors."

Instead, Erez recommends thinking of security in terms of providing a deterrent to potential thieves. One such deterrent is a security system, announced by a sign in the front yard. Or even the sign with no alarm at all. Extra lighting in key spots around the home and a family dog can also help.

"It's a mental thing," Erez says. "If someone wants to break in, put as many things in his way as you can. He'll most likely move on to another house."

Also, it's important to remember that many thieves don't even bother picking a lock when robbing a home. Lock bumping is irrelevant if a potential thief would rather use a crowbar or a swift kick than a bump key and a rubber mallet.

Home insurance
There is one surefire way to protect against big losses in a burglary that doesn't involve any cutting-edge equipment or security know-how: a good insurance policy. Most providers of homeowners and renters insurance will pay for a loss even if, as is the case with locks that have been bumped, there are no signs of forced entry.

"A theft is a theft. A loss is a loss," says Mike Siemienas, a spokesman for insurance giant Allstate, "as long as it's covered under your policy. Our policy is that you as a customer don't have to prove that someone broke into your house."

Kip Diggs, a State Farm representative, agreed. "It's very unlikely that we would reject a claim based on that."

Check your policy to make sure yours will pay regardless of how the thieves got in. For those who choose to upgrade to bump-resistant locks, it's worth a call to your insurance company to see if it would offer you a discount for installing higher-quality locks in your home. For the record, State Farm and Allstate do not offer a discount beyond a generic one for deadbolt locks.
According to Mike Barry, the media-relations director at the Insurance Information Institute, it's unlikely insurance companies would offer a premium discount for a specific brand of lock.

With little evidence available that lock bumping is common practice among thieves, the security threat to the average residence is, at this point, largely theoretical. Still, the probable spread of the expertise and tools required for lock bumping may make it a bigger concern in the future.
Those most in danger may be lock makers themselves, who may one day face class-action lawsuits filed by customers angry about the possibility that some companies have known about this flaw in their products for decades -- and done nothing about it.