Day-in and day-out, we hear horror stories from our customers who almost got scammed by a scammer locksmith. Unfortunately, many times, people fall for the scams of these criminals.
Today, a very smart Calgary accountant did what we suggest everyone to do, think and refuse to pay. Mariya Savchyshyn owns a condo in Calgary and rents it out. She said her tenants asked her to replace their lock, and a Google search listed Locksmith Calgary at the top, so she called them without doing her searches to see that they are a scammer locksmith.
Finding out if a locksmith company is a scam is quite easy, here are a few simple steps from Terry Whin-Yates to catch them.
There are many more warning signs to catch a scammer locksmith. Just use your head and if you can’t determine if they’re fake or not, don’t use them!
One big warning sign which Mariya Savchyshyn should have caught onto was the fact that the scammer locksmith, Locksmith Calgary used the tenant’s phone to phone her. Why wouldn’t they use their own cell number? Because these scammer locksmith’s do not want repeat customers.
Scammer locksmiths such as locksmith Calgary operate on a one-hit basis. They scam you, and then they request an extreme amount of money and force you to pay. Because of the bad experience they provide, they don’t expect you to call back which is why they provide an illegitimate invoice with a fraudulent tax ID, a fake address and at often times as well, a fake phone number.
Thankfully, when the scammer locksmith called Mariya Savchyshyn to say that he’s done, she caught on. Locksmith Calgary refused to provide an itemized invoice for the inflated invoice which was triple the cost, $773.85 as per CBC.
“And I’m like, that’s weird, because usually the customer has to receive an invoice, look at it and then pay, right?” said Savchyshyn.
“I’m an accountant myself, and I know that no one is going to send me money until they see the invoice.”
When Savchyshyn refused to pay without knowing exactly what she was paying for — she says the company threatened to send the bill to a collection agency.
Terry Whin-Yates states that threats are common with scammer locksmiths. We’ve heard from people that the scammer locksmiths have gotten violent with violent threats, verbal threats, death threats and unfortunately much more.
“I just want to warn people because someone … might be scared because that company is scaring people by saying they’ll send them to collections,” she said.
“They might be scared and just pay $800 for a lock, it’s ridiculous.”
A scammer locksmith will have a hard time sending you to a legitimate collections agency. Collection agencies are not stupid, they will ask for supporting documentation which the scammer locksmiths will not have. Do not be fooled by the collection agency trick. If they do send you to collections, you can fight it by signing up to a low-cost service called LegalShield.
“Locksmith Calgary told CBC Calgary they don’t provide a billing service, even for larger companies, and require all payments be made before an invoice is issued.”
This should be an immediate red flag. No legitimate company issues an invoice after payment. We, for example always issue an itemized invoice before the customer pays, because that’s the correct way of doing business. If a customer has a question, we’re always there to answer that question.
It is ok to ask the locksmith who their credit card processor is for collecting payments. Credit card processors are the companies that collect your payment on behalf of the merchant and then provide the merchant with the funds. Names of some credit card processors are: Moneris, Square, Payfirma, Helcim, Stripe. If the locksmith doesn’t know or refuses to answer the question, refuse to pay. If they demand cash, refuse to pay.
“On their website, Locksmith Calgary lists their service call fee as $15 plus labour and hardware costs. A lock change is listed as $35 dollars and a lock re-key as $19.”
]]>
For further information go to Mr. Locksmith
Let’s talk about something that’s a little different today. Boots.
As locksmiths, we put in a lot of hours and so we’re constantly on our feet. We’re on our feet in all sorts of weather. Today we’re going talk about my 5.11 boots that I wear all the time. The 5.11 Tactile six inch Coyote boot. They’re water resistant. I promise, these boots are water proof because I’ve been in water in them and I still got my feet dry. These boots are over five years old. And I use them daily. I have two pairs of these boots, as I alternate them. I had to put in some inserts. They just seems to make your feet feel better. And they are super-comfortable.
I was heading to the Philippines and that place is hot and humid. It’s absolutely terrible on the feet. I’m not a flip flop person, because I like my feet protected so I can’t walk around with flip flops. These 5.11 Tactile six inch Coyote boots are meant for hot, humid, even desert environments. I wore these for almost ten weeks straight. Every single day, in the jungle, on the water, heading to little islands (if you saw, I was in McArthur Park where general McArthur landed). I went up the hill (a bunch of hills where they had to attack bunkers, Japanese-held bunkers). This 5.11 Tactile six inch Coyote boot what I had on my feet. Although I didn’t see any snakes, there’s lots of snakes there that are bad. But it was so hot, and these were absolutely fantastic. I wore them and so I thought next time I go down to Florida, Texas, I’m gonna be wearing these. These are my go-to boots now in the summer time. They’ve got this antibacterial stuff, and all sorts of bits and pieces. You can read about it online. These were super comfortable. I definitely recommend this. I’m heading back to Asia and I’m wearing these. I bought a second pair. I always like to alternate my shoes, so I’ll have these again, because they’re FANTASTIC.
However, I think the only downside, when I jumped off of a boat into the salt water, I got both wet, and it didn’t take that. It took probably about four hours in the sun to dry ’em out. And it kinda pissed me off a little bit. It means that it’s not meant to go in the water. You’re gonna get wet feet if you do that. Nevertheless, for 99% of what I did, these were absolutely fantastic. The water resistance might not be that good but, they’re so comfortable I don’t wanna add anything to them. So, if anybody has any good ideas on a boot that’s good for super hot, humid, almost desert-y jungle conditions, that has some water resistance, I’d be really interested in knowing because that’s the only downside of these boots. Other than that, 99.9% absolutely fantastic. Super super comfortable. I liked it so much that I bought a second pair. And again, this is different and nothing to do with locksmithing, but we gotta have comfortable feet. I hope you enjoyed watching this video. Subscribe to my channel. Also visit my website and you can see what online locksmith training I have for beginners, intermediate, and advanced. As well as my covert methods of entry and my non-destructive methods of entry.
Mr. Locksmith Vancouver
Vancouver Locksmith Main: (604) 239-0882
Downtown Vancouver Locksmith: (604) 262-1907
Downtown Vancouver Keystore: (604) 669-8008
Mr. Locksmith Automotive Locksmith: (604) 259-7617
For On-line and Hands-on Locksmith Training Dates and Cities near you for Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced Locksmithing as well as my Covert Methods of Entry, Non-destructive Methods of Entry and to purchase the Famous “Dumb Key Force Tool” that opens Smart Key locks in seconds go to Mr. Locksmith Training http://mrlocksmithtraining.com/
]]>
For further information go to http://mrlocksmith.com/
This is a three-button Toyota remote. Very, very simple. Just lock, unlock and it’s got the panic button on the inside, which I didn’t see at first. This one’s for the older Toyotas. When you look at it, there’s no screws, there’s no screws anywhere on it. It’s pretty much sealed except for at the back, you can see. Not a dime would fit in that, so we use a little flat-head screwdrivers. I’m gonna use my Leatherman. But, you just can’t twist it out. You gotta slide it out because it’s got the little tabs over it. It has an extremely popular battery. The battery is a CR2032. Popular for a lot of different remotes, remote-head keys and proxes.
To put the battery in, you just gotta slide it in and that’s perfect. So we’ve done a very good weather stripping on this. So there we go. There is our Toyota remote.
Steps on how to change a Toyota remote battery:
There we go. That’s a nice one. Just make sure that you didn’t spill everything when you twist it. Again, we have to slide this battery out. Don’t twist and pull. We’ve got little metal tabs over the battery. Just slide it out, and it comes out nicely. The CR2032, is an extremely popular for Toyota remote battery. And, I mostly just use Energizers or Duracell batteries. I don’t like the dollar store stuff that much as I prefer the better quality. The dollar store doesn’t usually sell Duracells, or Energizers. I usually find Walmart has the cheapest, the least expensive parts. If you lose track of which way it goes because there’s no positive or negative, few tips – The little contacts always go to the opposite to the plus (or the writing). Just slide the battery back in. Slide it in nicely. And then just clip it together. On the video, it came apart a lot nicer the second time around. I hope you enjoyed watching this video. Subscribe to my channel.
Also, visit my website and you can see what online locksmith training I have for beginners, intermediate, and advanced, as well as my covert methods of entry and my non-destructive methods of entry.
Mr. Locksmith Vancouver
Vancouver Locksmith Main: (604) 239-0882
Downtown Vancouver Locksmith: (604) 262-1907
Downtown Vancouver Keystore: (604) 669-8008
Mr. Locksmith Automotive Locksmith: (604) 259-7617
For On-line and Hands-on Locksmith Training Dates and Cities and automotive locksmith near you by Terry Whin-Yates for Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced Locksmithing as well as my Covert Methods of Entry, Non-destructive Methods of Entry and to purchase the Famous “Dumb Key Force Tool” go to Mr. Locksmith Training
For Locksmith Franchise and Licensing Opportunities go to http://mrlocksmith.com/locksmithfranchise-opportunities/
]]>For further information go to Mr. Locksmith
Visited the Chilliwack Corn Maze & Pumpkin Farm in Chilliwack BC on 41905 Yale Road West, Chilliwack, BC V2R 4J4. The Original Chilliwack Corn Maze features a 12 acre maze and tons of attractions for the whole family and has been operating the corn maze since 1999. Lots of fun for the entire family or a date.
Call Mr. Locksmith for further information http://www.mrlocksmith.com/
or email: info@mrlocksmith.com
Mr. Locksmith Vancouver
Vancouver Locksmith Main: (604) 239-0882
Downtown Vancouver Locksmith: (604) 262-1907
Downtown Vancouver Keystore: (604) 669-8008
Mr. Locksmith Automotive: (604) 259-7617
For On-line and Hands-on Locksmith Training Dates and Cities near you by Terry Whin-Yates for Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced Locksmithing as well as my Covert Methods of Entry, Non-destructive Methods of Entry and to purchase the Famous “Dumb Key Force Tool” that opens Smart Key locks in seconds go to Mr. Locksmith Training
For Locksmith Franchise and Licensing Opportunities go to http://mrlocksmith.com/locksmithfranchise-opportunities/
]]>
For further information go to www.mrlocksmith.com
Medieval Locksmith Tools.
Leonhard Danner of Nuremberg was a Sixteenth-Century Nuremberger engineer/inventor. Nuremberger (Nürnberg) was the leading metalworking centre of Europe.
Danner was renowned for inventing and manufacturing instruments which could demolish strong Medieval Moorish castle walls, gadgets for breaking through locks and metal bars as well as creating lifting machinery for heavy artillery. At the same time, he was also producing delicate artistic works.
The Danner screw device or “Dannscher Brechschrauber” which could destroy locks came from his workshop around 1560 and the operation of the vicelike tool was as simple as it was effective. The machine’s lawless efficiency and capacity to enable criminal behaviour was quickly recognized by the Nuremberg City Council and they issued a decree banning it from January 16, 1561. Anyone requesting such an apparatus should be reported to the reigning mayor and instructions for manufacturing them were restricted. This did not prevent more of these ‘Dannscher Brechschrauber’ being manufactured.
Medieval Locksmith Tools:
“Danner’s breaking screw consisted of two hooks, which could be stuck under the lock cover, and a thread bar, which made it really simple, to break the lock of the door.”
As a consequence of this invention, locksmiths developed far better and secure locks and other locksmiths, criminals, etc. invented methods to defeat these new locks.
Call Mr. Locksmith for further information http://www.mrlocksmith.com/
or email: info@mrlocksmith.com
Mr. Locksmith Vancouver
Vancouver Locksmith Main: (604) 239-0882
Downtown Vancouver Locksmith: (604) 262-1907
Downtown Vancouver Keystore: (604) 669-8008
Mr. Locksmith Automotive: (604) 259-7617
For On-line and Hands-on Locksmith Training Dates and Cities near you by Terry Whin-Yates for Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced Locksmithing as well as my Covert Methods of Entry, Non-destructive Methods of Entry and to purchase the Famous “Dumb Key Force Tool” that opens Smart Key locks in seconds go to Mr. Locksmith Training
For Mr. Locksmith Franchise and Licensing Opportunities go to http://mrlocksmith.com/locksmithfranchise-opportunities/
References
Les Cahiers de la Musee National de la Renaissance, Le Banc d’Orfevre de l’Electeur de Saxe, (Paris, 2012)
Herman Maué, et al.,(eds), Quasi Centrum Europae: Europa kauft in Nürnberg 1400–1800, (Nürnberg, 2002)
Watanabe-O’Kelly, Helen, Court Culture in Dresden: From Renaissance to Baroque, (Palgrave, Basingstoke, 2002)
]]>
For further information go to http://mrlocksmith.com/
Love Lock Sculptures in Queen Elizabeth Park Vancouver British Columbia Canada.
Burrard Street Bridge in Vancouver British Columbia is an unofficial Love Lock Bridge. City work crews repeatedly remove padlocks from the Burrard Street Bridge. Also, the chain link fence just east of the Plaza of Nations on the False Creek seawall is another location of Love Locks.
A love locks sculpture dedicated to eternal love is now in the lookout above the Quarry Garden in Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, BC.
The sculpture is designed by Vancouver artist Bruce Voyce and celebrates the shelter that love brings and the union that it forms. It will support several thousand locks on the skirts of each couple.
Keys can be deposited in a box on site and will eventually be recycled or melted down to become part of another sculpture.
A love lock or love padlock is a padlock lovers lock on a bridge or similar public fixture to symbolize their love. Usually, you engrave your names on the padlock, lock it onto the bridge and then throw the keys into the Seine river below below to symbolize their unbreakable love.
Vancouver joins other famous Love Locks locations in Rome and Paris. The Ponte Milvio is a famous bridge in the northern part of Rome, specifically the Della Vittoria district. The bridge became so popular that, despite it’s strong brick foundation, the city feared it might sink from all of the locks.
People still visit Ponte Milvio to lock their padlock to the bridge and declare their eternal love, today.
Paris actually has two Love bridges , the Pont de l’Archevêché and the Pont des Arts, are probably the most well known love lock bridges in the World. One bridge is for “lovers” and the other bridge is for “the love of your life.”
For On-line and Hands-on Locksmith Training Dates and Cities near you for Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced Locksmithing as well as my Covert Methods of Entry, Non-destructive Methods of Entry and to purchase the Famous “Dumb Key Force Tool” (one of many Locksmith Tools by Terry Whin-Yates) that opens Smart Key locks in seconds go to Mr. Locksmith Training.
For Locksmith Franchise and Licensing Opportunities go to http://mrlocksmith.com/locksmithfranchise-opportunities/
]]>For further info go to www.mrlocksmithtraining.com
Hi, I’m Terry from Mr. Locksmith. This is one of the first jobs I ever had where I ran across a dead body and it was, it was interesting.
We had a customer who owned a funeral home. Really classy place, really good people to work with and I did their locks and they were a really good customer. Then they called me up and said, “We have a problem with the lock on the fridge, it’s sticking and we need it fixed.
And they knew I was a sofety, every time I went there I was nervous. I hadn’t seen dead bodies before.
So, they said I gotta go work on the fridge and they know I’m a softy. They said, “Terry, it’s all- we only have one deceased person inside. Only one and it’s no problem, we’ll be with you.”
Okay. I’ll do it. So I have to go fix this lock. So I go follow the guys, they’re all dressed nice, they’re very professional. Really, really nice people and, but I go into the back room and, and I’m already kinda looking around.
The fridge is there and there’s this stainless steel table like you see on TV. It’s got the drainage thing around it.
It’s freaking me out and I feel like my feet are sticking to the floor. The place is spotless, it’s clean but I’m kinda walking and I kind of like, I feel like I’m sticking but everything is white and stainless and super clean. So he’s with me, he’s a good guy and he opens up the fridge, you know, and it’s meant to hold like, I don’t know, six bodies and the one is in a box.
The Furneral Director said, “Terry, you know, don’t worry.” He’s like, he’s, “The dead will not hurt you.” You know? “Don’t worry Terry,” you know, “This was a very good person,” and he’s trying to be all professional and I’m like, I, I walk through, you know, I walk through the coffin room and I’m in the prep room and I’ve got this fridge with a body inside.
I’ve got one body. He says, he says, “I got three more people coming in so we gotta get this done.” I basically had to replace the old lock, put a new one on. I had everything and I’m kind of like this and he’s go, “Oh, someone’s at the front door.” So he’s leaving me in the room but the body is in a box, I’m in the freezer. I’m replacing the lock. He says, “Terry,” he says, “I’ll be right back. I’m really sorry.” So, you know, ding, ding, ding. He’s going to the, you know, he’s leaving me in the prep room, he’s going through the coffin room.
He’s going to talk to somebody. I’m there, I’m freaked. I’m cool, you know, I’m cool. I’m working on the lock, you know, getting it all together. All of the sudden, I guess the, ’cause the door’s been open, the fan kicks in on the fridge and it’s a big frigging whooooooo. So, first of all, the whoooo, that gets me and then, hanging out the box was some of the body bag and the body bag picec is now flapping, whooo, in the fan and it’s touching me. And I run out of the room as quick as I can. I run into the Furneral guy and he’s coming in and he takes me back in there. It’s the Fridge cooler fan, it’s the piece of the body bag is flapping.
I called it a day. I went home. So that’s my first dead body expericene, not good. I still get a little freaked out over it. It freaks me out to this day. This body bag. Have a good Halloween.
For On-line and Hands-on Locksmith Training Dates and Cities near you for Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced Locksmithing as well as my Covert Methods of Entry, Non-destructive Methods of Entry and to purchase the Famous “Dumb Key Force Tool” that opens Smart Key locks in seconds go to Mr. Locksmith Training http://mrlocksmithtraining.com/
For Locksmith Franchise and Licensing Opportunities go to http://mrlocksmith.com/locksmithfranchise-opportunities/
]]>
For further info go to www.mrlocksmithtraining.com
Hi, this is Terry from Mr. Locksmith. Another scary Halloween story. The stories seem to always involve the police because where they’re checking on people, they don’t want to kick the door in, not always, so they don’t know where this guy is, they just call us, we show up, we got the police there. It’s just one police this time, one guy. And they say, “We’re here. guy hasn’t been seen for over one week, Blah, blah, blah.” You know, they’re do their thing, we’ve been doing this forever.
Simple lock. Easy to pick. But what I do, and I always recommend, before I do anything, I know the cop’s been there banging and everything, but I go there, I bang on the door just to make sure that nothing – nothing’s going to happen, nobody there, whatever. I bang on the door, nobody there. The other precaution I do, because I don’t know what the situation is here, I pick the lock to the side. So you’ve got to think about it, if somebody takes a shotgun and shoots it through the door, they usually shoot high so you don’t get killed doing a simple job.
A little bit of locksmith safety here for this Halloween story, bang on the door, when I’m picking it, I pick to the side. I don’t know why this person’s inside or is or isn’t. I don’t know anything. So I’m picking the door sideways and I’m pretty good at picking sideways, a little awkward, it’s a simple lock. I’m just about to turn it, all of a sudden, the door flings open. I jump back about 10 feet. And I’ll call him dwarf, little person, whatever. I got a little people, naked, drunk guy screaming, and he flies at the cop. And all of a sudden, this naked little dwarf guy is fighting the cop, and he’s screaming and hollering.
I’ve recovered enough to get in. I jump in to help the cop because he’s, like, just got jumped on by a little person, naked. I help grab him, and the cop cuffs him. And we’ve got this little, naked guy, drunk as a skunk, raging like I don’t know what like screaming bloody murder.
Long story short, scared the hell out of us. He is the owner of the place. The family hasn’t heard from him. We leave – He doesn’t know what the hell is going on. He’s been on a weekend bender. Little person, you scared the hell out of me. He attacked the cop. Once the cop got everything solved and everything, they just sort of basically called some family members and they can now deal with him.
Even after I did my knocking on the door, nobody there, picked it properly, still got the living crap scared out of me, and it was a little – little person, naked, and I just can’t get that image out of my head. Sorry. Have a good Halloween.
For On-line and Hands-on Locksmith Training Dates and Cities near you for Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced Locksmithing as well as my Covert Methods of Entry, Non-destructive Methods of Entry and to purchase the Famous “Dumb Key Force Tool” that opens Smart Key locks in seconds go to Mr. Locksmith Training http://mrlocksmithtraining.com/
For Locksmith Franchise and Licensing Opportunities go to http://mrlocksmith.com/locksmithfranchise-opportunities/
]]>For further information go to www.forbes.com/
Marc has travelled the World and he is wrting a four part series for Forbes on how the security of locks can be quickly circumvented with simple to sophisticated tools produced for locksmiths and government agencies.
Marc writes about a specialized group of security experts, tool designers, and manufacturers that offer some incredibly well-engineered, clever, and often-sophisticated devices to open just about anything imaginable from the highest security cylinders to safes and even the most expensive cars
My favorite electronic is pick is the electro-pick that was designed by the Wendt Company.
In the upcoming serices he will talk about the “Sputnik” is demonstrated by Oliver Diederichsen, the tool was actually developed by Mladen Percic, a German burglar, the Lishi car opening tools whick are legend in the industry and Alexandre Triffault, a French lock expert and programmer who designed a computer program to generate keys with 3D printers to compromise the key control of just about every mechanical cylinder with a scanned image and key system data.
I look forward to reading and watching the entire series. Again,go to www.forbes.com/ and watch Marcs Video.
In the near furture I will have a post my video showing the Wendt Electro-pick in action. See it first on my Mr. Locksmith YouTube Channel
If you are a licenesed Locksmith or Government Agency and want to purchase Wendt Electro-picks email me “Terry@mrlocksmith.com”
For now watch this fun video.
For On-line and Hands-on Locksmith Training Dates and Cities near you for Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced Locksmithing as well as my Covert Methods of Entry, Non-destructive Methods of Entry and to purchase the Famous “Dumb Key Force Tool” that opens Smart Key locks in seconds go to Mr. Locksmith Training
For Locksmith Franchise and Licensing Opportunities go to http://mrlocksmith.com/locksmithfranchise-opportunities/
]]>For further info go to http://mrlocksmith.com/
Hi, I’m Terry from Mr. LockSmith. We are a BC government-licensed locksmith company. All of our Mr. LockSmith locksmiths have been criminal records checks, nobody has a criminal record. We are licensed, insured and bonded. We’re BC government licensed. A huge problem in the Lower Mainland is the scammer locksmiths. They’re unlicensed, they’re advertising mostly in Google AdWords, they say $15 or $25, they will do the service call. No reputable locksmith will come out for $15 and do your re-key or do your lockout. The scammers end up charging you hundreds of dollars, they will rip you off, a lot of times they will do cash only, and you have no idea who came to your house and did your job. Usually they come two of them, and they intimidate you into paying you cash. Recently in the Lower Mainland, they got the customer, they did the re-key, they got the customer, they drove them to their bank so they could get cash, why the customer was inside at the ATM, they drove back to the house, with the key now, opened up the house and ripped off lots of stuff outta their house. So again, don’t trust these $15, $25 unlicensed locksmiths. Mr. LockSmith is a reputable BC government licensed and insured locksmith company. All of our locksmiths have had criminal record checks, and nobody has a criminal record. We take Visa, Mastercard, or cash. Our machines always work, they’re never down, you don’t have to run to your bank. Don’t trust these 15 or 25 dollar unlicensed locksmiths, they will rip you off.
For On-line and Hands-on Locksmith Training Dates and Cities near you for Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced Locksmithing as well as my Covert Methods of Entry, Non-destructive Methods of Entry and to purchase the Famous “Dumb Key Force Tool” that opens Smart Key locks in seconds go to Mr. Locksmith Traininghttp://mrlocksmithtraining.com/
For Locksmith Franchise and Licensing Opportunities go to http://mrlocksmith.com/locksmithfranchise-opportunities/
]]>