Locksmith scam

For the supposed practice of burglars using locksmith stickers to mark vulnerable properties, see Burglar signs § Locksmith stickers.

The locksmith scam is a scam involving fake business listings for cheap locksmith services that, once called out, overcharge the customer. The scam targets people who call a locksmith out of desperation, usually because of being locked out of their car or premises.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Locksmith scams have been reported in the U.S.,[8][9][3][10][11] the U.K.,[12][13] and New Zealand.[14][15][16]

The scams work by flooding business-finding services with a multitude of faux business listings. All of the phone numbers of these listings eventually link back to a single operation, usually without a legitimate address or license. The descriptions will be similar to legitimate locksmiths, accompanied by similarly misleading advertising, and usually quoting an unusually low price. The person who turns up may perform shoddy work and then overcharge for the service and parts. Since the customer never knows the real business or people involved, at best they can ask for a single phony listing to be removed - a process that takes time and does not negatively impact the scammer much, as they can simply create more fake listings.

Side-effects of the scam include damage to legitimate locksmiths who lose business and tend to get angry calls from people believing them to be responsible.[17][18] Google Maps has been particularly vulnerable to this operation in the 2010s. It began requiring people advertising locksmith services in the US or Canada to complete its "Advanced Verification" process as of 2018,[19] but does not do so in other markets.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference tucson-2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ftc-2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference aloa-2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference nytimes-2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference whnt-2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference mnn-2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference abc15-2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference aarp-2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference kdvr-2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference msnbc-today was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference abc-thelookout was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference mla-2012-08 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference mla-2014-01 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference newshub-2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference tvnz-2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference mlaa-2017-12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference time-2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference abcnews4-2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference zdnet-2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).