Protect Your Investment: Don't be a bump key victim

A Google search of the term "bump keys" provides 50,200 results, a lot for a term many of you might not be aware of but a minute number in a world where "Britney Spears" generates 99,300,000 results and "Barack Obama" nets 29,600,000.

But that doesn't mean bump keys aren't big. Depending on whom you talk to, this illegal activity is on the rise. In a nutshell, a bump key (shown) allows a burglar to modify a key and use it, along with a "bumping" tool like a mallet or hammer, to open a lock.

What's disturbing about the Google results for bump keys is that the search links you to video tutorials on how to pick locks and sites that sells bump-keys sets that, as one puts it, "Easily open doors and locks."

Read "Unlocking the truth behind bump keys" to learn how to avoid break-ins at your home. And follow our advice below to prevent a break-in at your home.

Prevent home break-ins

• Make sure your doors are as strong as your locks. Our review of entry doors rates wood, metal, and fiberglass doors, and includes tips on security.

• Place a sturdy bar in the track of any sliding door in your home to make it more difficult to force open.

• Reinforce windows and glass doors with transparent window-security film, security glazing, or roll-down security panels, or install burglar-resistant glass. Consider adding bars or grating on windows located in secluded areas of your home. And never leave doors or windows unlocked.

• Make sure the door from your home to the garage is equipped with a good lock. To reduce the odds that a burglar can get into the garage by stealing the signal code off your garage-door opener, install an opener that uses rolling-code technology to change the code after each use.

• Use landscaping as part of your defenses. Prune shrubs so they won't shield intruders from neighbors' view. Trim trees so they don't provide access to second-floor windows. And never leave a ladder outside—a crook could use them to gain access to an upper floor or onto a section of roof.

• Install motion-detecting lights outdoors to ward off nighttime intruders.

• Put timers on lights and radios (tuned to an all-talk station) to give the impression that someone is home. The best electronic timers have battery backup in case power is lost, provide several on/off cycles, and are easy enough to operate that you will use them.

• When you'll be away from home for an extended period, arrange to have your lawn mowed or snow cleared from your driveway and sidewalks. Also ask a neighbor to bring your mail and newspapers or cancel delivery. If possible, leave a car parked in the driveway.


See our free report to learn five ways to make any door more secure against break-ins.