A chain letter being spread by e-mail that claims to offer a “wonder key” capable of opening 99 percent of all locks in the world has sparked concerned after a string of Taipei City thefts.
Some locksmiths, who said they would never compromise their professional ethics by selling such keys to the public, said that such tools, when used maliciously, pose safety concerns.
A string of thefts in Taipei City’s Da-an (大安) and Wenshan (文山) districts and in Sindian (新店), Taipei County, have reportedly involved “wonder” keys, with locks and doors left intact by the intruders.
Police said that the perpetrators appeared to be trained users of the keys, which they believe were produced by professional locksmiths. They also said the thieves have mostly chosen doors with cross-shaped keyholes.
As picking a lock can take a long time, most thieves smash locks or break doors or windows to gain entry to a home or office, police said. Only thieves with training in locksmith techniques bother trying to open locks, they said.
After consulting several locksmiths, police said no one “wonder” skeleton key could open any variety of lock, but said that criminals with the right training and right set of tools could easily handle most locks.
Locksmiths are allowed to produce lock-picking tools for work-related purposes, the police said, but nonprofessionals should be warned that buying such keys online is a violation of Article 63 of the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法).
Violators may face three days in detention or a fine of up to NT$30,000.
Though the keys are marketed as spares in case a person has misplaced or forgotten their keys, the police called the e-mail pitch dubious, as the advertisements presented the “wonder key” as “capable of opening an array of locks.”
The ad also offers details on copying regular keys “in case [a replica] is needed.”
The police said that there was no reason for a nonprofessional to own skeleton keys of any variety as they can have spare keys made.
The police also said the ads warned customers against illegal use of the “wonder key,” but the sellers had no way of checking the intentions of buyers.
The ad’s warning was designed to cover the sellers’ backs, police said, a typical trick on the Internet. Some Web sites also try to veil discussions about illegal activities with disclaimers calling the sites “academic discussions only.”
Such sites may include information about ways to commit suicide or hack computers, or explain home-made bombs and date-rape drugs.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS