It’s never good news to find out that your home or business has had a break-in attempt.
That’s why it’s always a good idea to know what to look for with an attempted break-in so you can go about making any adjustments you need such as getting a professional locksmith such as Abacus Locksmiths to do a security audit.
If you have suspected a break in the first thing you should do is to check the locks on the property.
To be able to do this and know that a failed break-in took place there’s a few things you’re going to need to know about so you can look out for them.
Locks No Longer Functions Correctly
One of the most common things to happen is that lock all of a sudden does not work as it should. This does not necessarily mean a break-in took place but if there is nothing wrong with your lock and all of a sudden it has issues the next day then you may have had a failed break-in.
What break-in artist generally try to do is use a tactic called bumping.
In simple terms bumping is using a key which fits in the lock but is not the exact key. And then after that key is inserted into the lock the lock is hit with something hard. For example a hammer is used and this can potentially allow the tumblers to release the lock.
A Scratched Lock
A really obvious indicator of a failed break-in is scratches on a lock. If all of a sudden you come back to your property and a lock has been completely scratched up it can be reason for suspicion.
The reasoning behind this is very simple. When someone tries to pick a lock they are going to end up scratching. Most lock pick sets are metal so you’ve got metal scratching against metal. So naturally it’s a very easy way to determine that someone tried to pick a lock. If you use the normal key for the lock you’re never going to scratch anything.
Another way to break into a lock is with a screwdriver or something with a sharp point. All of these will generally leave scratches on the surface of the lock.
A Damaged Lock
Another method to get a look open is just by brute force.
Everyone has seen the movies where the hammers or other heavy devices smash locks off doors. Inexperienced robbers who don’t know who to pick locks or get into a house using a more covert methods resort of smashing locks. So a damaged lock is an easy way to tell an attempted break-in took place.
Hopefully the short article was helpful and if you see any of the signs on any failed entrance on your property there is definitely reason to be suspicious. The best thing to do is to call a locksmith to come out to your property to do a security check to make sure that everything is in order to prevent further break-ins.
