Internet locksmith scams present major threat to security - who knew?

Dune Lawrence at Bloomberg News has written an article which I saw via Cory Doctrow's article at BoingBoing and it turns out that the widespread, spamming-fake-locksmith scams could be an even more serious security issue because the techniques used to hijack entire markets of legitimate locksmiths can also be used to hijack, say, the local Secret Service office.

We all know that these pervasive scams have been a serious security issue for almost a decade now and it's pretty sad that the same old story is still news to some - but at least it's not going unnoticed and it is being reframed and escalated via fresh channels.

That said, there's no better time to redouble our efforts to bring this issue to the forefront of the national consciousness.

REPORT scammers!  This problem is not going away unless we make it go away and there's nothing like a history of willful disregard to make future charges stick.  Make sure we've got that history.

EDUCATE the public.  Talk to your customers and your friends and your mailman and your Grandma. Bring it up at the game and at the backyard BBQ.  Think about all those folks who always want your Professional Advice for Free - have you got a deal for them!

COMMISERATE with your peers.  No matter how futile it feels, if we combine our voices we will make a cacophonous racket!  There are literally more of us than there are of them by a factor of hundreds-if-not-thousands; we need only stand together to be heard.

And what better place to commiserate and stand together with your fellow locksmith than the monthly meeting of your local association?  The MN Chapter of ALOA meets the first Wednesday of every month, September through June at Grumpy's Bar in Roseville.  Details here.

You do not have to be a member of the chapter to attend up to 2 meetings a year.

You do not have to be sponsored or RSVP to attend a meeting.