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Drilling the lock is literally what emergency locksmiths do. This isn't a Mission Impossible movie. Bet you don't forget your key now.

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Without attempting a pick?

Only the grifters.

I have yet to see the first emergency locksmith that isn't a grifter. The moment you can't open a lock yourself, you're paying ten times the reasonable rate, or worse.

It's usually cheaper to knock in a window, or if you live in an expensive area, to buy a fire axe and break down the door.

The trick is to to find real locksmiths, with a real storefront, preferably ahead of time. If you just Google emergency locksmith and your ZIP code or location, all of the top results will be scammers in unmarked vans. This is an old scam, it's got its own Wikipedia page: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locksmith_scam

There's been some reporting about these fake listings on Google maps: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/google-maps-fake-listings-lawsu...

Locksmiths won't do that in general - even if they know how. Picking makes it look easy - not only can they not justify their bill but also people ask if locks provide any security and that is bad for business.

I watched a locksmith pick someone's apartment door in 10 seconds and then charge them $80. Then everyone commented on how easy it looked and the locksmith was very friendly about it.

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