Getting locked out is stressful enough on its own. Getting locked out after midnight, when you’re tired and the street is empty and every minute feels longer than it should, is a different kind of stressful. So you do the obvious thing. You grab your phone, search “locksmith near me,” call the first number that looks local, and just hope someone shows up fast.
That moment right there is exactly what locksmith scammers are counting on.
How does this locksmith scam work?
Most of the time, it’s a straightforward bait-and-switch.
You see an ad. “From $29.” “Cheap emergency locksmith.” Something that sounds like a bargain. You call, get a vague estimate, and someone gets sent your way.
Then they arrive. And the price changes.
Maybe the lock is “more complex than expected.” Maybe that first quote only ever covered the call-out fee, not the actual work. Maybe, and this is the big one — they tell you the lock needs to be drilled and replaced, right now, no other option.
The real warning sign isn’t the drilling itself. It’s the pressure. If the price jumps, the explanation is thin, and you feel like you’re being pushed to just pay up because the person is already standing in your doorway.
In one covered case reported by ABC7 New York in a consumer alert, a New York resident was quoted around $65 for a lockout and ended up charged more than $1,000 after being told the lock needed drilling and replacing.
The Better Business Bureau has fielded thousands of complaints on this exact pattern across the US. It starts with a low quote over the phone, then a much higher bill once the technician shows up. The BBB has published a detailed overview of common locksmith scam tactics.
Even Australian media has covered cases where simple lockout jobs escalated into expensive lock replacements without clear consent, as reported by 9News in its locksmith scam warning
I work as a locksmith in Melbourne, Australia, and I’ve heard some version of this story more times than I can count. Someone gets a cheap quote over the phone, a “technician” shows up and then somehow, the job gets complicated. The lock “has” to be drilled. And by the time it’s all done, the bill looks nothing like the number they were originally quoted.
This is not just something happening in one city, or even one country. Similar locksmith scams have been reported in the US, the UK, New Zealand, Canada, Germany and Ireland, usually following the same pattern: fake or misleading local listings, cheap advertised prices, pressure at the door and inflated final bills.
Other tricks worth knowing about
After-hours lockouts are the classic version, but they’re not the only one.
Some scammers set up fake listings using names close enough to real companies that nobody notices the difference.
Google itself has acknowledged this problem. In 2025, Google said it had removed more than 10,000 listings connected to a group of bad actors who were impersonating real locksmiths, taking over unclaimed Business Profiles and overcharging customers. Google also said it filed a lawsuit against the operators and is using what it learned to improve its detection systems.
With that said, most locksmiths are decent and honest people doing a genuinely useful job. But the bad ones know exactly how vulnerable someone feels standing outside their own locked front door.
So take a breath before you hand over your card and confirm who you’re actually calling.
Get the price locked in. Ask what could change it. Don’t let anyone drill without explaining why first, and don’t agree to anything until the cost is settled.
A few extra questions, asked at the right moment, can save you a genuinely painful bill.
This content is provided for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. AFP editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.
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