Lock Bumping – The Dangers

Thousands of properties in any given development area will share the same make and model of Eurocylinder for the external door(s), due to the need for maintenance spares, suited access etc.
A single "bump" key, made from an existing tenant's spare key, using information widely available on the internet, will access all the properties using that model of cylinder. It will normally take a thief less than 5 seconds to open the door.
(See the quote from M.W. Tobias and Investigative Law Offices, April 2006, Document 060922107: Opening locks by bumping in 5 seconds or less: is it really a threat to physical security?: A Technical Analysis of the issues)
Tenants are left at risk of a wholly unaddressed illegal Method Of Entry. This can be interpreted as a failure to maintain Duty of Care, given the widespread promotion of the technique via the internet.

"Bumping" a lock normally causes little or no damage to the target lock cylinder because the cylinder is merely tricked into opening. As a result, there no forensic evidence of attack or manipulation. In these cases, insurance companies are unlikely to be willing to pay out on claims made.
In the USA the technique has become more established, up to the point where public competitions exist to demonstrate individual skill in this Method Of Entry. It is estimated that up to 30% of burglaries in America have no evidence of forced entry, or lock manipulation.
Anyone wishing to become familiar with this simply has to type 'lock bumping' into any Internet search engine, and hundreds of pages ranging from the USA's CBS Newsweek programme, to individual discussions of technique will be made available.

As with the Public Housing Sector, the greatest problem for the Householder is the combination of the ready availability and effectiveness of this Method Of Entry. The ease of entry for housebreakers and the frequent lack of evidence that a lock has been "bumped" exposes households not only to the potential loss of possessions, but also the nightmare of uninsured theft.
In both cases, it must be noted that no particular brand or type of pin cylinder has been seen to be significantly more or less susceptible to the Method Of Entry described above. Only a small number of extremely expensive cylinders, which cost in excess of £50 each, are described as being resistant to "bumping".