An I-Team Investigation

Your home may be your castle, but it is doubtful that you have a moat to keep thieves at bay. Instead, we rely on locks, such as the ones we often buy at hardware stores.

This I-Team investigation has a warning for anyone who uses a lock:

    They probably aren't good enough; and criminals can have easy access to your house.

They do this by using bump keys.
Basically, it's a generic key that fits into many locks and opens a door when the key is hit with something hard.

The locks on our doors aren't only for peace of mind, we expect them to provide real security. But the I-Team has learned, most don't.

Getting into your house is as easy as using a screwdriver. The problem is so serious, Anchorage police officers are going to Action Security for training on how to deal with the culprit: bump keys. They are sort of a generic key that allows a thief to get into your house with a few taps of a mallet.

And with just that, a criminal is in. There are no confirmed cases of bump keys being used in Anchorage, but Action Security's Scott Henke believes it is just a matter of time.

"We've known about this for years. But I think it's time for the consumer to know that there's the possibility of a threat out there," said Henke.

Henke says part of the problem is that locks you buy at the store are so easy to beat.

"We've got a $200 pair of tennis shoes on the inside of the door that's being secured by a ten-dollar deadbolt," said Henke.

So what's the solution?

You want to buy a commercial-grade lock, such as the ones manufactured by a company called Medeco.

"First of all, Medeco has a patented keyway. And the patented keyway allows Medeco to only distribute to specific people," said Henke.

So only people who buy a Medeco lock are allowed to get a

key made. They cost about 150 dollars; but it might be a good investment, now that we know what the thieves know.

Henke says Medeco won't let you get a new key without proving who you are with a driver's license or other form of ID. Those locks are available in Anchorage.

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If you have a story for the I-Team that you want me to look into, you can call the I-Team hotline number at 273-3111.