How to Prevent Opening a Lock With a Credit Card

A simple catch provides more security than a door handle lock.

But all you have to do is make the metal move out of the way and the door will open easily. This can be done by inserting a credit card between the metal and the door frame. You can prevent credit card entry in several ways.

1. Educate yourself on how a lock can be bypassed with a credit card. By understanding how it works, you can take steps to prevent it in the future. See the Resources section for a short video demonstrating how a credit card can be used to open your lock.

2. Install a door latch guard. This metal plate follows the contour of the door frame, extending over it. It is designed to prevent someone from sliding a credit card into the space between the door and the frame.

3. Use a dead bolt on your door. A dead bolt is a much longer piece of metal—or bolt—that is inserted far into the door frame, whereas a door handle lock only uses the small piece of metal that can be moved with a credit card. Install additional dead bolts on your door for extra security.

4. Add a sliding door latch to your door. Similar to a dead bolt, a sliding door latch, with its long metal bar, cannot be moved out of the way by a credit card.

5. Install an electronic door handle on your outside doors. These locks have keypads that require a code to be punched in to gain entry. There is not a space to slide a credit card into these locks.

Tip

Do not rely on the door handle lock by itself. The way these locks are set up make it easy for someone to slide a card through the door frame and bypass the lock in a matter of seconds.