In an effort to combat phony locksmiths, California has created a specialized unit to track down and prosecute these con artist.
UNLICENSED ACTIVITY ACTION UNIT (UAAU)
In February of 2009, the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services
(BSIS) developed an Unlicensed Activity Action Unit (UAAU) to increase their efforts to curtail unlicensed and unregistered activities of those performing work in the Private Security Industries which include Alarm Companies, Locksmiths, Repossessors, Private Investigators, Private Patrol Companies, Security Guards, and Weapons Training Facilities.
This unit is staffed by experienced enforcement analysts from within BSIS's Enforcement Division. UAAU primary function is to investigate unlicensed and or unregistered activity leads received from the public, licensees and government agencies; as well as conduct sweeps with other law enforcement and governmental agencies.
REPORTING UNLICENSED AND UNREGISTERED ACTIVITY
The Bureau has simplified the reporting process by providing an online activity lead form. The informant may remain anonymous but if there is not enough information provided the Bureau may not be able to pursue. Anonymous activity lead forms will be kept confidential. The activity lead forms are processed according to the date of receipt, priority, and staff availability. You must provide as much detailed information as possible including the location(s) and time(s) of the activity which are extremely important.
UNLICENSED ACTIVITY ACTION UNIT (UAAU)
Access the online UAAU Activity Lead form at http://www.bsis.ca.gov/forms_pubs/uaau_lead_form.pdf
Complete the UAAU Activity Lead Form and submit it to the Bureau either by:
Mail it to the Bureau at:
Bureau of Security and Investigative Service P.O. Box 980550 West Sacramento, California 95798
ATTN: UAAU
Fax it to the Bureau at: (916) 575-7289
Email it to the Bureau at: uaau_bsisunit@dca.ca.gov
Thank you.
Avoid the scams, just remember the name Pop-A-Lock A Trusted Locksmith Nationwide. No cons, no bait and switch just great service.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
What is all the fuss about Locksmiths in Google?
There has been a recent flurry of activity on many SEO blogs regarding Locksmiths across the country. Whats the deal?
Most locksmith listings in the United States are now Phony. They far out number the legitimate locksmiths...probably by an unspeakable order of magnitude. If you pick a phone number at random from the internet, odds are you will be ripped off.
A search in any major city (or lots of rural areas) will result in a massive display of fradulent listings. In one recent article an SEO guru noted there according to Google there are more locksmiths in NYC than Cabs. This is an obvious exploit that is being conducted by unscrupulus people
The Associated Locksmiths of America (www.aloa.org) has been doing it's best to combat this but this is beyond the ability of 'outsiders' to do anything. It may be even be beyond the capacity of law enforcement and Google themselves to correct the problem as well.
As the largest legitimate provider of locksmith service in the United States, we have become a centralized point for many locksmiths to complain about this scammer/phoney/spammer locksmith problem. We have invested SIGNIFICANT amounts of money into legal fees, research and communication into helping combat this both on our own behalf as well as independent locksmith who we have no formal relationships with in some cases. We have the most formal complaints on file with Google, the legal system and the yellow page directories.
Why is this a big deal?
The scam is robbing customers for tons of money by overcharging them many times the going rate to have service performed. There are also some serious questions regarding how taxes are being paid and if the 'worker bees' that are being imported to perform the work, usually form outside the country, are possibly being exploited.
"Go along with the scam or you might you lose your citizenship." This is the unspoken sword of damaclese hanging over the head of the employees (actually most of them are not w2 employees they are not paying payroll taxes).
So what can be done?
I'm truly at a loss for a magic bullet solution for the whole situation. However, from our standpoint there is a magic bullet: Don't Call a locksmith...call Pop-A-Lock instead. If stranded individuals or individuals in need of locksmith service just called us directly, we could take care of them nationwide and no one would ever get ripped off by locksmiths again.
We are the only company who can make that claim and have massive amounts of historical data to justify the statement. Since 1991 we have performed literally millions of calls and from BBB records, I estimate that we have a legitimate complaints in the Six Sigma range against our work. I'm sure any Six Sigma Guru can appreciate how incredible that is, particularly for a service business that is resolving such an 'emotional' problem as that of people being stranded and locked out of their house, business or vehicle.
About the most legitimate complaint we occasionally get is that we arrive later than projected. This is a statisically very small percentage. The reality of the nature of traffic and the unpredictability of certain types of work contributes to this and we often reduce the cost of service to help compensate...even though it may have been something out of our control.
From a data sample of nearly 3 years worth of data our Average ETA for road service calls is under 34 minutes, in some cities that arrival time is less than 20 Minutes. That is not 'projected time' that is measured data from the time a request for service is sent out until the tech is onsite with the customer. That metric can also be vetted against data from Major roadservice providers who have used us in the past as well.
We currently service over 148 MSA's in the US, which is about 5000 communities with real tax paying, American, W-2 employees. In areas where we have no Pop-A-Lock we recommend locksmiths from the Associated Locksmiths of America Database or state licensing databases that we have real time access to 24 hours a day.
We pay our taxes, we pay fair wages and offer benefits to our employees in many locations. This gives us a very stable base of knoweledgable employees who, unlike the majority of the industry, require at least a certain amount of formal training before they are allowed to service customers.
We are licensed both as a company and down to the employee in every state and city that requires licensing. Our own requirements for employees usually far exceed the requirements dictated by the governing authority over locksmiths in the state.
To be clear: There are thousands of great locksmiths around, some of these people are the most skilled people in the world at a very demanding trade that can be very difficult to get training in specialized subjects. If someone has a longstanding relationship with an existing locksmith, by all means use someone you know and trust. The last thing you do though is look up a locksmith at random from the yellow pages, 411 or the internet.
All circumstances considered, if you have no other information and you are stranded the smartest thing to do from a purely statistical and logical perspective is to call 1-800-Pop A Lock (or a local number through 411 or your smart phone browser). If we have someone in your MSA we will service you at a fair price, if we don't we will give you the next best option in your area if any other options exist.
If you are a locksmith and have found that your ad has been hijacked, please submit your complaint directly to Google through this link (http://maps.google.com/support/bin/request.py?contact_type=maps_spam)
Our home website to find locksmiths nationwide is: http://www.popalock.com/locations.php
Most locksmith listings in the United States are now Phony. They far out number the legitimate locksmiths...probably by an unspeakable order of magnitude. If you pick a phone number at random from the internet, odds are you will be ripped off.
A search in any major city (or lots of rural areas) will result in a massive display of fradulent listings. In one recent article an SEO guru noted there according to Google there are more locksmiths in NYC than Cabs. This is an obvious exploit that is being conducted by unscrupulus people
The Associated Locksmiths of America (www.aloa.org) has been doing it's best to combat this but this is beyond the ability of 'outsiders' to do anything. It may be even be beyond the capacity of law enforcement and Google themselves to correct the problem as well.
As the largest legitimate provider of locksmith service in the United States, we have become a centralized point for many locksmiths to complain about this scammer/phoney/spammer locksmith problem. We have invested SIGNIFICANT amounts of money into legal fees, research and communication into helping combat this both on our own behalf as well as independent locksmith who we have no formal relationships with in some cases. We have the most formal complaints on file with Google, the legal system and the yellow page directories.
Why is this a big deal?
The scam is robbing customers for tons of money by overcharging them many times the going rate to have service performed. There are also some serious questions regarding how taxes are being paid and if the 'worker bees' that are being imported to perform the work, usually form outside the country, are possibly being exploited.
"Go along with the scam or you might you lose your citizenship." This is the unspoken sword of damaclese hanging over the head of the employees (actually most of them are not w2 employees they are not paying payroll taxes).
So what can be done?
I'm truly at a loss for a magic bullet solution for the whole situation. However, from our standpoint there is a magic bullet: Don't Call a locksmith...call Pop-A-Lock instead. If stranded individuals or individuals in need of locksmith service just called us directly, we could take care of them nationwide and no one would ever get ripped off by locksmiths again.
We are the only company who can make that claim and have massive amounts of historical data to justify the statement. Since 1991 we have performed literally millions of calls and from BBB records, I estimate that we have a legitimate complaints in the Six Sigma range against our work. I'm sure any Six Sigma Guru can appreciate how incredible that is, particularly for a service business that is resolving such an 'emotional' problem as that of people being stranded and locked out of their house, business or vehicle.
About the most legitimate complaint we occasionally get is that we arrive later than projected. This is a statisically very small percentage. The reality of the nature of traffic and the unpredictability of certain types of work contributes to this and we often reduce the cost of service to help compensate...even though it may have been something out of our control.
From a data sample of nearly 3 years worth of data our Average ETA for road service calls is under 34 minutes, in some cities that arrival time is less than 20 Minutes. That is not 'projected time' that is measured data from the time a request for service is sent out until the tech is onsite with the customer. That metric can also be vetted against data from Major roadservice providers who have used us in the past as well.
We currently service over 148 MSA's in the US, which is about 5000 communities with real tax paying, American, W-2 employees. In areas where we have no Pop-A-Lock we recommend locksmiths from the Associated Locksmiths of America Database or state licensing databases that we have real time access to 24 hours a day.
We pay our taxes, we pay fair wages and offer benefits to our employees in many locations. This gives us a very stable base of knoweledgable employees who, unlike the majority of the industry, require at least a certain amount of formal training before they are allowed to service customers.
We are licensed both as a company and down to the employee in every state and city that requires licensing. Our own requirements for employees usually far exceed the requirements dictated by the governing authority over locksmiths in the state.
To be clear: There are thousands of great locksmiths around, some of these people are the most skilled people in the world at a very demanding trade that can be very difficult to get training in specialized subjects. If someone has a longstanding relationship with an existing locksmith, by all means use someone you know and trust. The last thing you do though is look up a locksmith at random from the yellow pages, 411 or the internet.
All circumstances considered, if you have no other information and you are stranded the smartest thing to do from a purely statistical and logical perspective is to call 1-800-Pop A Lock (or a local number through 411 or your smart phone browser). If we have someone in your MSA we will service you at a fair price, if we don't we will give you the next best option in your area if any other options exist.
If you are a locksmith and have found that your ad has been hijacked, please submit your complaint directly to Google through this link (http://maps.google.com/support/bin/request.py?contact_type=maps_spam)
Our home website to find locksmiths nationwide is: http://www.popalock.com/locations.php
Friday, March 13, 2009
California Helps Fight the Locksmith Scammers
This summary is not available. Please
click here to view the post.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Pop-A-Lock of Virginia Awesome Locksmith!
Pop-A-Lock of Virginia was established in August of 1996. Since then Pop-A-Lock of Virginia has been providing Emergency Locksmith Services, Car Unlocking Services, and Roadside Assistance Services with one objective in mind: 100% customerer satisfaction. Pop-A-Lock of Virginia is a family owned business committed to customer service, quick response times, and professionalism. Pop-A-Lock employees are rigorously screened, and receive the most technologically advanced training in the locksmith and car door unlocking industry.
Pop-A-Lock of Virginia is licensed by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, and is bonded and insured. As well, Pop-A-Lock provides a 100% guarantee on all work performed. Pop-A-Lock Locksmiths will arrive at your location in marked vehicles, and will be outfitted in company uniforms inluding ID Badges. We pride ourselves on standing out from our competitors in a positive manner.
Finally, "POP-A-LOCK GIVES BACK". We are proud to take part in the National Community Service Program created by Pop-A-Lock called the "Emergency Door Unlocking (EDU) Program" in which Pop-A-Lock provides it's door unlocking service free to the customer when a child is locked inside a vehicle or home. Pop-A-Lock of Viginia has exclusive agreements with police departments and 911 dispatch centers in Richmond, on the Peninsula, and in Southside to make EDU service a priority.
Give Pop-A-Lock of Virginia a chance to earn your business for life!!!!!!!!!!
Pop-A-Lock of Virginia is licensed by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, and is bonded and insured. As well, Pop-A-Lock provides a 100% guarantee on all work performed. Pop-A-Lock Locksmiths will arrive at your location in marked vehicles, and will be outfitted in company uniforms inluding ID Badges. We pride ourselves on standing out from our competitors in a positive manner.
Finally, "POP-A-LOCK GIVES BACK". We are proud to take part in the National Community Service Program created by Pop-A-Lock called the "Emergency Door Unlocking (EDU) Program" in which Pop-A-Lock provides it's door unlocking service free to the customer when a child is locked inside a vehicle or home. Pop-A-Lock of Viginia has exclusive agreements with police departments and 911 dispatch centers in Richmond, on the Peninsula, and in Southside to make EDU service a priority.
Give Pop-A-Lock of Virginia a chance to earn your business for life!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
How NOT to get scammed by a locksmith!
Recently my cousin was out of town and broke the key to his truck off in the ignition. He was in a city that had no Pop-A-Lock and he called me to get some advice. He orginally was asking how to get the key out but soon realized that would likely do more harm than good.
With the do-it-yourself option out of the way we began to try to find a real local locksmith who could give him a hand at a reasonable price.
He had no internet access and the phone book was missing from his room so we were forced to go to the internet to locate someone.
When I did the search for the city (middle of nowhere texas) and the term locksmith. I got hundreds of listings, the odds of all of them actually being locksmiths in BFE texas were slim to none. Some even had local numbers but I suspected that the only thing 'local' about the companies was the area code and prefix.
I called two of them that looked legit but got an answer of 'Locksmith' in a thick foreign hard to identify accent. I know what that means (one price now but a huge price later).
I looked through the phone numbers and listings until I found one that had a address listed then went to Google(r) maps and checked the street level view. The address showed a government looking building and no sign of a locksmith shop...another strike out.
Lastly, I called 411 and asked for a locksmith in that town and was given the same number that I had found on the internet earlier. Strike 3 blah.
Here I was the Director of Operations for the largest locksmith company and I'm struggling to find a locksmith for my cousin. I checked the www.findalocksmith.com site and they had no listing for that area or for the zip code either.
Left with no other real option, I resorted to calling the local police station (non-emergency number) explained my situation and asked for a referral for a real local locksmith. The dispatcher gave me a local number and I called them to get some help.
When I called the locksmith I explained who I was and what was going on with my cousin. We also discussed how his local internet had been over-run with fake listings, he stated that there were actually only two locksmiths within a 25 mile radius of that town and was candid enough to tell me the name of the other locksmith.
He took care of my cousin at a great price and also inquired about becoming a Pop-A-Lock provider.
At the end of this episode I'm still left with only two ways of really getting a 'real' locksmith:
1. Call 1-800-Popalock (1-800-767-2562) if we have a provider we can tell you immediately without having to search.
2. Go to find a locksmith on our Popalock.com page
3. Or call the local non-emergency number for police or fire and ask for a referral.
So many of the other local names are so close aaaaa1aaaaa Locksmith could be a real local or it could be scammer, at this point is almost impossible to tell.
With the do-it-yourself option out of the way we began to try to find a real local locksmith who could give him a hand at a reasonable price.
He had no internet access and the phone book was missing from his room so we were forced to go to the internet to locate someone.
When I did the search for the city (middle of nowhere texas) and the term locksmith. I got hundreds of listings, the odds of all of them actually being locksmiths in BFE texas were slim to none. Some even had local numbers but I suspected that the only thing 'local' about the companies was the area code and prefix.
I called two of them that looked legit but got an answer of 'Locksmith' in a thick foreign hard to identify accent. I know what that means (one price now but a huge price later).
I looked through the phone numbers and listings until I found one that had a address listed then went to Google(r) maps and checked the street level view. The address showed a government looking building and no sign of a locksmith shop...another strike out.
Lastly, I called 411 and asked for a locksmith in that town and was given the same number that I had found on the internet earlier. Strike 3 blah.
Here I was the Director of Operations for the largest locksmith company and I'm struggling to find a locksmith for my cousin. I checked the www.findalocksmith.com site and they had no listing for that area or for the zip code either.
Left with no other real option, I resorted to calling the local police station (non-emergency number) explained my situation and asked for a referral for a real local locksmith. The dispatcher gave me a local number and I called them to get some help.
When I called the locksmith I explained who I was and what was going on with my cousin. We also discussed how his local internet had been over-run with fake listings, he stated that there were actually only two locksmiths within a 25 mile radius of that town and was candid enough to tell me the name of the other locksmith.
He took care of my cousin at a great price and also inquired about becoming a Pop-A-Lock provider.
At the end of this episode I'm still left with only two ways of really getting a 'real' locksmith:
1. Call 1-800-Popalock (1-800-767-2562) if we have a provider we can tell you immediately without having to search.
2. Go to find a locksmith on our Popalock.com page
3. Or call the local non-emergency number for police or fire and ask for a referral.
So many of the other local names are so close aaaaa1aaaaa Locksmith could be a real local or it could be scammer, at this point is almost impossible to tell.
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