It’s scary fast even for me and I’m really just a dabbler. I came home one day and my wife had gone out unexpectedly. I hadn’t brought my house keys because I didn’t think I’d need them. I happened to have a small screwdriver and paperclip in the car. I bent up the paperclip a bit and used the screw driver as a tension bar. I literally took 2-3 SECONDS to open my locked house door.
Needless to say, I replaced the lock but even so, locks really just keep the polite people out.
I don’t think there are many actually criminal lockpickers, even so. It’s a fun hobby, and a fairly lucrative trade if you decide to get into it. Most regular thieves are not that motivated, and simply use the advanced technique of “LOL, it wasn’t locked.” Others just use the venerable “footpick”.
That’s leaving aside car thieves, who again generally just rely on forgetful car owners; but they do seem more likely to use a bent-up coat hanger and a modicum of skill. I guess it’s lower stakes to break into a car, where you definitely know no one is in there, than to risk an encounter with a possibly armed person at home.
It’s scary fast even for me and I’m really just a dabbler. I came home one day and my wife had gone out unexpectedly. I hadn’t brought my house keys because I didn’t think I’d need them. I happened to have a small screwdriver and paperclip in the car. I bent up the paperclip a bit and used the screw driver as a tension bar. I literally took 2-3 SECONDS to open my locked house door.
Needless to say, I replaced the lock but even so, locks really just keep the polite people out.
I don’t think there are many actually criminal lockpickers, even so. It’s a fun hobby, and a fairly lucrative trade if you decide to get into it. Most regular thieves are not that motivated, and simply use the advanced technique of “LOL, it wasn’t locked.” Others just use the venerable “footpick”.
That’s leaving aside car thieves, who again generally just rely on forgetful car owners; but they do seem more likely to use a bent-up coat hanger and a modicum of skill. I guess it’s lower stakes to break into a car, where you definitely know no one is in there, than to risk an encounter with a possibly armed person at home.