LIBERTY, Mo. -- A KCTV5 News investigation could help you out the next time you are locked out of your house or you accidentally lock your keys in your car.

When Sammye Guenther locked her keys in the car outside of her Liberty home, she ran into the house, opened the AT&T Yellow Pages, found Locksmith and saw a full-page advertisement that immediately drew her attention.

The company claimed they would beat any price.

"I thought, 'Well, they'll be reasonable. It says they'd come to Liberty, and it says no extra charge for weekends and holidays," said Guenther.

A technician arrived in her driveway 40 minutes later. He told her he could get into her car, but warned that he would have to use a special device that was very expensive.

He explained that the air jet cost $400 and had to be replaced every two months. Because of the special device, the technician charged Guenther $176 to unlock her car, more than three times the going rate for local locksmiths.

A quick call to five local shops uncovered an average price of just $54 to get you into your car.

And the balloon device he called an air jet? They're not rare at all, said some local locksmiths. They said they all have one, and they cost about $25 bucks and should not hike the price to unlock a car.

What Guenther didn't realize when she flipped through the Yellow Pages is that there are more than 170 phone numbers listed under the locksmith heading. The Better Business Bureau warns that many of the numbers with 816 and 913 area codes aren't local at all.

The BBB linked the phone number on the full page ad that Guenther called to dozens of different company aliases and phone numbers, believed to originate in Florida.

When "Kansas City locksmith" is searched on Google, more than 3,900 different listings appear. The KCTV5 News investigations team tracked down several of them and found they are bogus.

One locksmith address comes back to a grassy lot next to the Blue Valley School District headquarters. Another turns out be a house in Fairway. And one address listed is actually an AT&T building.

Greg Brandt, of Brandt Locksmiths, is a local locksmith. He has worked for 30 years in the Kansas City area and serves as president of the Missouri and Kansas Locksmith Association.

Brandt said the nationwide network of so-called locksmiths started flooding the Kansas City phonebook this year.

"The tactic this year is just to go in and put hundreds and hundreds of listings with bogus addresses on them," he said. "The chances are 90 percent you're going to get one of the people we call "phony locksmiths."

Brandt said he knows customers who have been scammed out of hundreds of dollars to change out a simple door lock. He said at home or outside of your car, the pitch is usually the same.

"They say, 'No, this price you were just quoted is the price to come out. It's actually going to be more.' Or they'll play this little charade where they say, 'It takes a special opening technique and it's going to be more money,' " said Brandt.

A KCTV5 News producer went undercover. She locked her keys in her car in the middle of the day, in the middle of the work week. Then she called the same number that Guenther called in the full page ad.

The man quoted her a price of $50 on the phone. He told her someone would be there in 20 to 30 minutes.

Two hours later, an unmarked minivan pulled up.

"OK, I'm not going to use a Slim Jim. I'm going to open here a little bit, and then I'm going to pull out the bottom. I'm using an air jet, no Slim Jim," the technician told the KCTV5 producer.

He told her that because of the van's wiring, the work would cost $120, not $50.

Our producer protested the price until the man finally made a call, then agreed to unlock the car for $84 dollars, a price still higher than it should cost, Brandt said.

Larry Friberg, a former police officer who lives in Oregon, recently launched the Web site, legallocksmiths.com. His goal is to compile a central database of legitimate locksmiths.

Friberg blames the government for failing to regulate the industry.

"Nobody in the government wants to listen to this. Basically it's a non-crime. It's 'buyer beware,' " said Friberg. "Don't trust the Yellow Pages. Don't trust the Internet. And don't trust 411."

KCTV5 News asked AT&T about the locksmith problem. Not only do they know about it, they say they're working to fix it.

A company spokesman said, "We're aware of the locksmith problem, and we're taking steps right now to ensure ads and numbers in the next edition of the Yellow Pages are legitimate."

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has a team of investigators looking into the network of locksmiths, also.

Industry experts recommend that consumers make contact with an actual local locksmith before you need one. Then, you'll know who to call in an emergency.

If you call for help and feel like you're being scammed, ask a lot of questions. Is the business local? Where is the company based? Get a firm estimate in writing before you allow a technician to begin.

Link: Better Business Bureau report on locksmiths