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.
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
As Taiwan celebrated its baseball team’s victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 on Sunday, how politicians referred to the team in their congratulatory messages reflected the nation’s political divide. Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei (中華台北隊), made history with its first-ever Premier12 championship after beating Japan 4-0 at the Tokyo Dome. Right after the game, President William Lai (賴清德) congratulated the team via a post on his Facebook page. Besides the players, Lai also lauded the team’s coaching and medical staff, and the fans cheering for them in Tokyo or watching the live broadcast, saying that “every
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday confirmed that Chinese students visiting Taiwan at the invitation of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation were almost all affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). During yesterday’s meeting convened by the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) asked whether the visit was a way to spread China’s so-called “united front” rhetoric, to which MAC Deputy Ministry Shen You-chung (沈有忠) responded with the CCP comment. The MAC noticed that the Chinese individuals visiting Taiwan, including those in sports, education, or religion, have had increasingly impressive backgrounds, demonstrating that the