How to Prevent Opening a Lock With a Credit Card
- 1). Educate yourself on how a lock can be bypassed with a credit card. By understanding how it works, you can take steps to prevent it in the future. See the Resources section for a short video demonstrating how a credit card can be used to open your lock.
- 2). Install a door latch guard. This metal plate follows the contour of the door frame, extending over it. It is designed to prevent someone from sliding a credit card into the space between the door and the frame.
- 3). Use a dead bolt on your door. A dead bolt is a much longer piece of metal---or bolt---that is inserted far into the door frame, whereas a door handle lock only uses the small piece of metal that can be moved with a credit card. Install additional dead bolts on your door for extra security.
- 4). Add a sliding door latch to your door. Similar to a dead bolt, a sliding door latch, with its long metal bar, cannot be moved out of the way by a credit card.
- 5). Install an electronic door handle on your outside doors. These locks have keypads that require a code to be punched in to gain entry. There is not a space to slide a credit card into these locks.
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