About 45% of all the crimes that occur at hotels are property crime – typically people’s belongings being stolen.
One of the most notable examples of this type of hotel crime occurred a few years back in London.
Thieves targeted the electronic locking safes in hotel rooms.
According to police, the gang had insider knowledge of the way hotel safes work.
The gang knew that hotel safes have default master override codes, and in most cases, hotel staff never change the default codes.
These default codes, such as 0000, or 1234, serve as master override codes meant for administrative purposes, but can be exploited by thieves.
So, the gang of thieves posed as hotel workers and gained access to hotel rooms.
Then they would enter the master codes into safes using electronic tools.
This would quickly open the safe and allow them to steal cash, passports, and jewelry.
All of this was done without triggering alarms or leaving signs of forced entry.
Investigators said that most of the hotels that were victims of the gang didn’t update their master codes.
Security footage helped police identify the gang members.
So, as this story highlights, it’s not hard for hotel safes to fall victim to thieves.
And electronic locks can leave safes vulnerable if the hotel hasn’t changed their master codes.
But it’s not just hotels that can be victimized… this same attack can be used on the general public.
The good news is, if you have an electronic safe there are a few ways to prevent it from easily being hacked.
Default:
The first thing you should do is change the default code to one that only you know.
Most default codes are something like 00000 or 123456 – obviously, that needs changed.
Open the safe and look for a button inside the safe, it’s usually near the battery compartment.
It might say something like “program” or “reset.”
Also, check the owner’s manual to ensure you are following the steps to change the default or master code.
This will prevent a thief from easily opening the safe if they have done their homework on the master code.
Brute force:
Another tactic used by sophisticated thieves is called a brute force attack.
This is when thieves use electronic hacking tools like a computer to guess the combination to an electronic safe.
There are only so many combinations that a safe can have so eventually the computer program can figure it out.
This is why you want to make sure your safe has a lockout period or limits on failed attempts.
That means, if it reaches the specific number of failed attempts, it should lock down for an extended amount of time.
Reset buttons:
Safe manufacturers know that everyone makes mistakes.
This includes people who might lock themselves out of their safe with no way to recall the combination.
This is why some safe manufacturers include bypass reset ports that can be accessed from outside the safe.
Now, the reset button might not be obvious but can be accessed using a coat hanger or a small tool.
On some cheap safes, the reset port can be pushed on the back of the safe with a paperclip.
When you buy a safe, avoid ones that have outside reset mechanisms.
Outside power:
In addition to reset buttons, some electronic safes have external power ports.
This is done so that a 9V battery can be used to activate the keypad if the internal batteries die.
The problem is that if the internal battery port is wired to the control board it can be hacked.
Criminals can use small electronic devices to cause voltage spikes or even extract data from the control board.
Of course, this is a sophisticated way to bypass an electronic lock but it’s not as hard as it sounds for someone who knows what they’re doing.
So, if your safe has an electronic lock it can be opened by determined hackers.
Truth is, you might be better off using an older safe with no high-tech electronics.
