Re: James Bond Credit Card Lock Picks

["R.H.Campbell" <rh.campbell@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

IMO, they are not quite the same situations ! In one case, you have someone
selling restricted tools of the trade which could be used in a wholesale
fashion to bypass with only a little practice most common locks sold for
residential use. The merchant doesn't know who he is selling these too, and
likely doesn't care. It's simply a means to an end - to make money, in spite
of the fact that a lot of harm could potentially be done. Lock picks IMO are
restricted tools which should remain that way ! A lot of state governments
also agree, and have limited their ownership and use to people in the trade.
Simply unlocking a piece of used alarm hardware that is commonly available,
and that can just as easily be replaced for a few bucks can't be construed
as doing public harm in the same way as selling a product who's unregulated
use can. Locks are designed to be opened only by people with the correct key
! Lockpicks are used to get around that situation !  It doesn't take a
genius to wonder why someone would want to do that who is not in the
trade....

Unlocking an individual board that belongs to a client, who has approached
me directly, doesn't guarantee in the same sort of  wholesale way, that the
board will be unlocked in all cases. I or the few others that do it can
always refuse to do it if something is not quite right about the deal. In
the vast majority of individual cases, it's pretty easy to tell what's going
on though when a client buys a new home with a locked board, and the
previous company simply refuses to unlock it because the client won't sign a
long term contract, or when he's bought a new home with a brand new alarm,
and the board is locked to prevent him from going elsewhere for his
monitoring services !!  And when I receive a large quantity of boards from
an alarm company for unlocking, I am not receiving something where there is
no control over their condition. The previous company that removed the board
at some point made a valid judgment about this board, replaced it with
another of their own, and has now simply decided to have it unlocked to save
a few bucks. To some degree, I do have to trust their word on this, but
since most are repeat customers that I have come to know, I don't have a
problem with it..

Strictly speaking, as you say though, you don't always know the exact
"circumstances" of any given situation. But you can exercise some control,
and at some point, you make a judgment call as you do in all other aspects
of business. However, in keeping with your point,  there IS one company in
Toronto that I will not do any unlocking business with, due to very credible
rumours of shifty operating by way of stealing other companies accounts ! I
wouldn't put it past this company to have stolen some of their boards. So,
like any other businessman, I have the right to refuse to do business with
them if I so choose for strictly business related reasons (and I do...)

But yeah, it isn't "black and white" in all cases; most, but not all !!  But
what ever is....

RHC

"alarman" <alarman2000@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Iintf.650$jR.502@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >
> Just curious, if you feel that way, how do you justify unlocking alarm
> boards for total strangers? I mean, how do you know the circumstances?
> js
>
>


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