Guard your keys! It’s easier for thieves to steal your keys – without you knowing! Gone are the days where you had to hire a locksmith or take your original key to the hardware store to create and purchase a duplicate key for cars, boats, and homes. Did you know that there are companies that will take a photo or a smartphone app scan of a key and will create a new one? Meant to help home and car owners easily order duplicates, these services can easily be misused by thieves! Find out more, and stay aware that you really do need to start guarding those keys!
Guard Your Keys
You’re probably already careful about handing over just your car key – not the full ring with your house keys—when you’re having your car serviced or when you turn it over to a valet.
Now you have to be even more careful about keeping an eye on your keys.
New technology makes it possible for someone to scan a key with a smartphone app and either go to a self-service key-making kiosk to get an extra key made or upload the image and get a duplicate mailed.
Though the service — provided by companies like by KeyMe, MinuteKey and KeysDuplicated— is a huge convenience when you get locked out or you want spare keys for a house guest or a dog walker, it’s also a boon to thieves.
So that means the days of leaving keys unattended or lying around on a table in a public place are over. You really need to guard a ring of keys the same way you protect a credit card or a bank password.
Learn more at Wired.