RENTON, Wash. — There’s a new warning from Renton police about phony locksmith stickers used by scammers to target homes and businesses.
One business in Renton says they spotted scam stickers Monday morning when employees showed up for work.
“They were like, ‘what is this?’” said Todd Lantz, VP of Production at Renton Coil Spring. “I’ve never seen something like that on our building.”
They went to their surveillance video and made a surprising discovery.
“Found it was on Sunday, this guy came in and started putting these stickers all over the doors and windows of our building,” said Lantz.
They then notified Renton PD.
Investigators are now warning people about the sticker scam.
“If you get locked out and you need help, you can call the locksmith to come let you in the door. But what these guys do is they respond when you call the fraudulent number and then they clone the keys and they could potentially come back and use them in a burglary,” said Meeghan Black with the Renton Police Department.
Police say the scam stickers are often placed over legit stickers.
Red flags include stickers that look crooked or they’re peeling.
At other times, scammers put them up in spots where there were no previous stickers at all .
“If there isn’t a company name on it, if there’s not a website, if you can’t verify that number, probably better not call it,” said Black.
Police say to protect yourself: use a locksmith you trust, remove suspicious stickers and report it.
“If it just looks a little bit funny, you may want to call a neighbor or call your landlord before you call that locksmith that has just a generic sticker,” said Black.