Community Chat

[LIndaMJ]

@Kachina624, thank you so much!

[shoesnbags]

Wow, I had no idea!  Thank you @Kachina624 .

[Porcelain]

I doubt it. Now if you're the unfortunate victim of obsessive stalking, or if a foreign government spy wants to get into your place, this technique might apply to you. But not an average person in everyday life.

How would the burglar know for sure the picture they found was of the key for a particular door? What a waste of time to go to all that trouble only to find they'd lovingly recreated a key to your garden shed, or your friend's place where you catsit or an old suitcase. I don't think the average burglar has the patience to do all that for such an uncertain reward.

They'd just wait until you're not home and go in through an open window or break in though your back kitchen door or your garage. The scenario from Next Door sounds more like something from a fiction book that someone took too seriously.

[Tinkrbl44]

I saw a woman complaining on Next Door the other day that she has a configuration where she doesn't need a key.  Her phone starts her car.  HOWEVER ... she's asking for help because her car has been broken into five times in the past two months ..... ya think she has a bad system?

(How many times would your car need to be broken into before you'd change the phone-starts-your-car-thing?)

[CelticCrafter]

Even if they were able to get a clear, concise picture of the key and have a copy made that actually would work, they would have to know where you live.

[jlkz]

@Kachina624 

Keep your keys inside the handbag but on a stretchy cord so you can easily pull them out right when you need them.

I attach my cord's end to the outside bag hardware.

 My car fob is pinned to the sidewall of the bag....it is only needed out of the bag when I turn the car in for service.

[teganslaw]

Starting a car with your phone is a bad idea. Suppose the battery on the phone died or developed some other problem, or the phone was lost or stolen. Not to mention the car broken into. The only help one can give that woman is to tell you to change her system.

It's not good to depend to on technology for everything.  

[Still Raining]

Since my car has a fob, I switched two doors in my house to cyber.  No more keys at all.

It is handy for power outages, emergencies,and family.

Can set up to six codes and flick them on and off.

All of us who live alone need this type of access for accidents.

Although, living up a hill, can be used for potty stops for family 🏃‍♂️ 

[RedTop]

A recent episode of Castle showed how someone used a 3D printer to take the image of a key from an expensive car, and duplicate it to create a working plastic key.  

From that clear image, a person can find the exact measurements of that manufactured key and duplicate it on the printer.   

[Tinkrbl44]

@jlkz 

Several years ago our company held a women's safety and self defense lecture, given by the Beverly Hills Police Dept.   (One of the top police departments in the country).

One of the best tips I got from that lecture was to never, EVER put your keys in your purse!   Not only are you vulnerable in the parking lot fishing around for your keys, but if your purse is stolen, they not only have your wallet with address on your drivers license, but they have your KEYS to get into your house.  

The safer thing to do, they said, is always have your keys in your pocket or hands, never the purse.   As a result, I keep my keys in my pants or blazer pockets ... never my purse.  If my purse was stolen, at least I can still drive home and call my credit card companies.

Another thing that made sense to me from that lecture is never carry a handbag with two straps ... like the shorter elbow crook length and the longer shoulder bag length.  It is easy for a purse snatcher to run up behind you, push you to the ground and grab the longer danging strap, and run like heck. 

By the time you have gotten to your feet, the burglar is a block away and still running.   They called that handbag style "the purse snatcher's dream".