A very long time ago it was discovered that pin tumbler locks — the kind you have on the exterior doors of your home — can be defeated using a technique called “bumping.” This is in reality a form of lock picking, but not one practiced by professionals as there are other picking procedures that are more reliable, though they require skill to use.
Now that the Internet makes it so easy to share information, this technique has found new popularity. Amateur videos are springing up all over the Web in which hobbyists and would-be locksmiths demonstrate how this is done. Since the practice requires little skill and no specialized tools, it is fairly quick to master to one degree or another. Unfortunately there are those who make use of this kind of information in uncivil ways.
Locksmiths, as mentioned, rarely use this technique but this was not always the case. Before the advent of commercially available lock picking tools (available, that is, to professional Locksmiths), bumping was one of the common ways to open residential locks when keys were lost or damaged. In those days Locksmiths carried around special mallets called “bump hammers”, and these are now showing up in non-professional catalogs and supply sites thanks to the online videos to which I made reference.
So how can you protect yourself from “bump attack”, which is my term for burglary performed through the use of bump keys? Here are a few simple and inexpensive steps that will make it much harder for a burglar with bump keys:
1- Make sure each of your exterior doors are protected with two keyed locks, one being a deadbolt lock. Bumping open one lock can take quite a while, so it makes sense that if you have two on your door a burglar hoping to use this technique will pass you up for a house with fewer locks to bump open.
2- It is well worth the money to replace your older deadbolts, which are almost certainly 5-pinned locks, with newer 6-pinned locks such as those offered by Kwikset under the Titan brand. Six pinned locks are much more difficult to bump open than are five pinned locks.
3- It’s always a good idea to use exterior lighting with motion sensors, especially at entrances that have no other nighttime lighting. This step will protect you from much more than just bump attack!
4- Useyour deadbolts! It always amazes me how many times I see unused deadbolts on homes and businesses. It takes something like .5 seconds to turn the thumb piece or use the key to lock a deadbolt, and that’s time that might well save you from a world of hurt someday.
Hopefully these few simple ideas will prevent at least one “bump attack”, which are indeed on the rise nationwide, from occurring. Maybe that someone will be “you.”
George Robertson is a practicing Locksmith with over 25 years of experience, and is recognized as an expert on the subject of locksmith training. He designs and manufactures locksmith training aids such as Practice Locks for the acquisition of lock picking skill, and complete practice kits for beginning locksmiths and hobbyists.
Living currently in southern Arizona, Mr. Robertson pursues locksmithing part time and is the Administrator of Lock Picker’s Mall, which can be found at www.LockPickersMall.com as well as www.CutAwayLockStore.com