How to Spot a Scammer Locksmith 

Like in many other industries, there are those who say they’re professional locksmiths, but they are out to take advantage of consumers. They might provide you a too-good-to-be-true low price to get you into your car or home that you’re locked out of — and then raise the price substantially after they arrive or after the work is complete. At the same time, the work they do may be unprofessional, leaving your cars, doors and home damaged.

How do you know who is a scammer? There are a few things you can do to help weed them out. First, don’t always go with the first people that come up in search engine results. Often, locksmith scammers are part of a nationwide network and invest heavily in search engine ads to get your attention — and to take your money. The phone number will often go to an out-of-state location, yet they say they offer local services.

Useful Information to Collect When Reporting a Scammer

Most members of the locksmith and physical industry are proud of their craft and have a very high level of integrity. This holds especially true for members of ALOA who have voluntarily joined the association and have gone through a vetting process to become a member.

However, issues can still happen with a locksmith company or technician. If you have any concern with a suspected scammer locksmith, you’ll most likely need to contact the department that provides consumer protection, or the attorney general, in the state where the service took place. You can find helpful links for some states on our Advocacy page.

If you suspect a locksmith of using deceptive business practices, try to include as much information as possible in your complaint, such as:

• Name of the company.

• Name of the technician.

• Date, day, time and location where the service took place.

• Address and phone number for the business.

• The professional or business license number of the locksmith or company. This information is usually located on the service vehicle, business card, invoice, website, etc. (This only applies to states that have licensing requirements.)

• Provide a description of the transaction in as much detail as possible.

• Try to include photos or images of any paperwork and/or the service vehicle that was dispatched.