Most locksmith companies have trucks that identify the name of the company. Ask for a business card or State Locksmith License ID card, get drivers license number & tag number of the truck. There are times that the price of the job will increase but a real locksmith will quote that before starting the job.

It is very sad that these people (scammers) are even being called Locksmith, they have only one talent "ripping off consumers" !!!! They do not even have the rights to be called phony locksmiths.

If you have been scammed you must file a complaint with your State attorney office. A lot of States have funds that can be used to refund money to you. They will collect fines & penalties from phony companies to help you. Without the complaints you are aiding the scammers to keep ripping off your friends & neighbor’s.

The headline is misleading. Dependable is not a "locksmith chain".

Dependable is a nationwide organization of CRIMINALS masquerading as locksmiths.

Dependable and several other companies have been described from one locksmith to another and among members of the Associated Locksmiths of America as "SCAMMERS" and legitimate locksmiths have been aware of, and to various extents, battling the SCAMMERS for years now.

Other SCAMMER companies are BASAD out of Colorado, ATLAS in Phoenix who is advertising some 250 telephone numbers and 300 phony addresses, COMPLETE in Arizona, as well as several others.

Legitimate locksmiths object to the media labeling SCAMMERS as "Locksmiths" even though the SCAMMERS advertise under our category and pretend to be us.

ALOA is in the process of releasing public service announcements encouraging consumers to understand that more than half of all the ads and listings in the phone books and internet are really SCAMMERS and NOT legitimate locksmiths. My personal estimation is more like 80% SCAMMERS.

If a consumer really wants to protect themselves they should go to ALOA's website "findalocksmith.com" or "LegalLocksmiths.com" which is a website operated by Larry who has 20+ years experience as a Phoenix Police detective before moving to Oregon. Consumers are encouraged to find a legitimate locksmith that they can trust ahead of time and lock that person's / company's phone number into their phone ahead of time so they have a point of reference in an emergency.

I tell all of the people that I come into contact with to lock my number into their phone and in the event that I am unable to respond in a timely manner when they call I have at least a half dozen different professional NON-SCAMMER locksmith friends that I can refer calls to. If they call me I can guarantee in the end they won't be ripped off. If the consumer relies on yellow pages, white pages, or the internet, chances are about 80% that they will be victimized by a scammer.

I am Charley@LocksmithCharley.com - 1-800-313-5397 in the Phoenix market.

Thanks for reading and have a GREAT DAY!
Charley