Arlington Heights Man Scammed of $650 by Fraudulent Locksmith Company

An Arlington Heights man told police he was scammed of nearly $650 on Monday after hiring a locksmith from what appears to be a fraudulent company.

The victim told he called a company called “Locks Men Inc.” to fix a dead bolt stuck in the locked position on his front door. The man said he found the company online, and the dispatcher told him the service would cost $28 for the house house, with the working starting at $45.

Two hours later, a locksmith arrived with a trainee. The victim told police the work took less than 45 minutes but he was billed $646.40.

The locksmith told the victim the work was expensive because “they don’t charge by the hour.” The man reluctantly paid with a credit card. When asked for a business card, the locksmith said he was out of them.

Once the man left, the victim called the company’s purported Arlington office. He was told a supervisor would call him back. Once he didn’t get a call, the victim headed to the location.

He discovered there was no such address. Calls to the phone number he had for the company went unreturned.

The victim was eventually able to connect with someone who claims to be part of the company’s Minneapolis office. The representative said he would “look into the matter."

As of Tuesday afternoon, when the police report was filed, the victim had yet to receive a call back. The Arlington number he originally called has been disconnected.

According to the police report, a representative from the victim’s credit card company said payment could not be stopped because the victim had voluntarily given his card as payment.