 To go "down the rabbit hole" is to enter a period of chaos or confusion. It is a metaphor for the conceptual path which is thought to lead to the true nature of reality. Infinitesimally deep and complex, venturing too far down is probably not that great of an idea. Therefore, it is commonly used as an expression or euphuism for a portal to bizarro world, significantly strange happenings, and extremely surreal situations, etc. A complex matrix full of allusions and illusion. As in the story of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, where Alice follows the White Rabbit down a hole and comes upon a great hallway lined with doors, I found myself one day staring into a portal, a hole, a cyber doorway and thought to myself...should I? Will I be prepared to pass through a doorway and take on a journey into the darkness?  While relaxing in a hammock on a warm summers day, reading several emails I came across a message that read - "Is ALOA & the Scammers one in the same?" from a concerned locksmith. Considering that David Peer was a member and ALOA Security Professionals Association Inc. (ALOA SPAI) President Tom Demont referred to these scammers in a Keynotes magazine editorial as "scumbags", the question captured my interested since it is not possible to have things both ways. You can't call people scumbags while they are or were your own members and you certainly can't engage in a strategy of feeding the news media, local and state legislators or the locksmith community a narrative that ultimately comes back at you! Before replying to the person who contacted me, I decided to clear my mind and allow myself to be open to new experiences and to let myself follow wherever I would be led in trying to find an answer to the question. Much like Alice's encounter with the White Rabbit who she had followed into the rabbit hole, I found myself peering into a "portal" that unwittingly took me on a journey that was so shocking, and enlightening that I found myself pondering if this was a dream or a parallel fictional universe of a Lewis Carroll novel. If you are the adventurous type, take my hand and I will share my journey with you! WARNING! - You will experience a phenomena that departs from the conventional rules of the real world. The plunge into this rabbit hole represents a plunge into deep, constantly changing transformations that you must pay attention and follow along. A sense of enlightenment may cause you to change what you believe to be true, or it all can be just a dream. You decide. Down the Hole We Go! Click on ALL links, but you must return here to this blog. Click on the "READ MORE" below to continue your journey! Door #1 We first Google the keywords "Locksmith Franchise" into a computer and we discover - Locksmith Local Careers & Locksmith Local franchise opportunity which states the following - "For years, our company has been hands open to all parties interested in joining our team. Becoming a franchisee is very simple. You are required to fill in the form below. You can also get more information by calling us at 888 551 1798 Locksmith Franchise". Strangely, there is no form to fill So we must call the number. Before we do, lets examine the Locksmith Local franchise web page better. Licensed & Insured They appear to be legitimate but remember, we are now in the rabbit hole, in a world upside down and inside out. L&L Locksmith Services telephone number 646-315-8883 (remember it)  The Pricing The pricing schedule seen is eerily similar to others found on websites identified by the news media as being questionable.  The Address 14545 Friar St., Van Nuys CA 91411  Door #2 Our journey continues when a return call is received. Maybe this will be what gets us through the door just like Alice! It was a representative from L&L Services, Inc. It was explained to me that they were “ok" because they are ALOA members and I was provided the name of Locksmiths NYC. The payment process and compensation was described, and went something like this: A 50/50 split, with as little payment to the agent as possible. Meaning, that a balance between credit card and cash payments would allow for the agent to keep the cash balance thereby eliminating the need for any checks to be cut or payment to be made to the agent by L&L Services. Wow, I thought, is this real? They are members of the ALOA Security Professionals Association as described. That could be a good thing, no? Visiting the L&L website I see that they offer a lead service for carpet cleaning, locksmiths, water damage, garage doors, towing and plumbing. They don’t ask for any upfront fees or cost,and they don’t make you pay for the calls, or call tracking. You pay nothing to work with them! What a deal! According to them you are paid a healthy and very generous commission and all of your jobs will be paid same day, so there is no billing to be concerned about. They identify themselves as being around for 13 years with websites that are highly ranked on top search engines such as Google and Bing. Their high traffic brings a high number of phone calls, and brings in high paychecks where none of the locksmiths working with them suffer from the economy. Door #2 appears to be too good to be true! Is this a dream? Will I shrink or shall I grow inside this new Wonderland? There are so many more doors to enter and explore! At the bottom of the L&L website in the right hand corner is a link to the LL Service Author that leads us to a person named Tsour Lee or Tsour Lee Adato, who is listed as President on his Linkedin profile. Tsour appears to be a colorful character in this psychedelic Wonderland. As we explore further we see claims that he is attending the California Institute of Technology and has attended Sivan College which is in Raanana, Israel - an educational institution according to Bloombergs Business Week, but I could not find it in any Google search or websites listing all schools in Israel. Just another bizarro twist inside the rabbit hole I suppose.
Tsour is a pretty colorful, hip character we meet in our journey. Behind Door #2 we find him on his YouTube channel listed as 911TowingService. As we dance to his music inside the rabbit hole we discover that Tsour claims he was the lead security detail for Brittney Spears! According to isreaility.com, Adato used to be a backup dancer in the Habimah musical Mary Lou. So is he a dancer, musician, cameraman or real bodyguard? Learn more about his 1 year stint - Here
 Britney Spears is 5' 4 " Tall Door #3 Enough of the big Wonderland Tea Party with celebrities, and on with our journey! While jamming with Tsour on the L&L website we see another link at the bottom of the website for LOCKSMTH JOBS and when we go there we find a link that says AUTHOR JESSICA K. This is the same Jessica that is shown in Tsour's Google Circle (which now says Mike Lee). Jessica K. appears to have attended the United States Air Force Academy and is listed as Human Resources. Here is the JOB APPLICATION. The contact information shows the phone number 888-551-1794 which I copied and Googled to find employment listings everywhere form HotFrog to Craigslists. Jessica K was kind enough to provide a link to a website called Locksmith Tools USA, which offered a shopping cart with a complete array of products from MAXTECH International. Mysteriously, this website no longer shows up.  Door #4 What's behind door #4? Could there be more? What bizarre twist or turn will reveal itself next? As I turn the knob I recall that I was told at the beginning of this journey that everything is alright, all is good because these people were ALOA members. So let's go see if this is true!  What a surprise! They are, and they even have a link to a their website! Stepping through this door there are many, many more doors and the rabbit hole gets deeper and darker - much darker. The first thing we notice is the company logo, a familiar logo once used with Run Local Locksmith. Then another from ALOA, Locksmith You Can Trust with a License. But suddenly we notice some strange things happening. This is one crazy rabbit hole!
 As we scroll down the Locksmith NYC webpage, we find another distortion of reality as it says they offer Pop-A-Lock services! A quick call to Rob Reynolds, Director of Operations Pop-A-Lock reveals that Locksmith NYC is not affiliated with PAL. What should we expect in this bizarro world. But hey, they are members of ALOA!  The ALOA member Locksmith NYC has both an address and a telephone number shown on the website which is familiar 646-315-8883. So we Google the phone number and we find MORE doors, many, many more. Hey! Wait a minute, it is the same telephone number on the Local Locksmith website as L&L Locksmith Services!   
 LOCKSMITH NYC in New Jersey? Interesting! One door even leads to New Jersey and another interesting website called 911 Locksmith Services, which is eerily similar to Tsour Lee's YouTube channel of 911 Towing Service. What we see is the same pricing schedule we see so often on questionable websites, and if you click on the menu item FRANCHISE we again see them using Pop-A-Lock again. 911 Locksmith Services' You Tube channel shows advertisements for locksmith services from Charlotte to Fresno!  If you click on the menu selection for CAREERS you will find a FAX number at the bottom of the page. Google it and we find it goes to Miss Jessica K of L&L Lead Lead Service, LLC.   Look further into the Google search results and the same fax number belongs to Glia Lee Adato Esq. otherwise found on Linkedin as Gila Kaplan - Lee Adato, Facebook and COO and Legal Counsel of L&L Lead Service. However, another Linkedin profile for the company shows Liz Topete as Human Resource Manager -   Back to the 911 Locksmith Services website, we find the telephone number 800-715-3019. GOOGLE IT and the rabbit hole exposes itself even more. The same phone number is used for the following -
Door #5 So who is Liad Messinger, Certified Registed Locksmith (CRL) by the ALOA Security Professionals Association? Well he is the Co-Founder and CEO of L&L Lead Services. He is also listed as having a license in good ol' Texas for a company called "A Certified Locksmiths" along with Amir Rubenshtein and Sharon Rubenshtein. Funny thing is that the mailing address is 793 Center St. #364 Lewiston,, N.Y. 14092, which is a UPS Store.    Amir Rubenshtein, also has stake in a company known as USA Locksmith COM Inc, along with a person named Eric Cohen and 3 others, according to a license found in good ol' Texas! The mailing address is a P.O. Box 1140 in Hackensack, N.J. 07602.  Eric Cohen of USA Locksmith is also identified in a Wisconsin judgement with a company called Prestige Business Solutions, Inc. He also possesses a locksmith license in New Jersey #34LX00011200.   With all of these doors, tunnels, twists and turns in the rabbit hole, it is time for some fresh air! Liad Messingers business listed on the ALOA Security Professionals Associations Find A Locksmith Directory indicates that his location is 182 Ave C NEW YORK, NY 10009, which is not too far, so let's take a ride and visit! But wait, Locksmith NYC is listed as a mobile business. But surely anyone found on the ALOA Find a Locksmith directory would certainly have an address where they can be found, right? The news media seems to tell the consumers to rely on this directory to Find a Locksmth You Can Trust. Is this correct? No worries then, off we go! To my surprise, things in the real world are as bizarre as in the rabbit hole. Here we are at the location and no locksmith? As we talk to the locals and the adjacent businesses, they say "icksnay no way" to any locksmith being there! Hmm..this whole journey is making my head spin, how about you?  182 Ave C NEW YORK, NY 10009 Suddenly, I remember! There is another address on the website address we were sent from the ALOA website. This is great! Now we will get to the bottom of finding this ALOA Locksmith You Can Trust.  Icksnay no way again! Oye Vey! What is going on here? In this Wonderland, it is starting to make me wonder if I am ever going to meet this ALOA recommended locksmith, so I can feel comfortable becoming a franchise with his company.
Frustrated, I turn to YELP and find another address not too far away. Off we go again only to be disappointed, but lucky. With all the running around in the rabbit hole and on the streets of NY, we can take a break and have our clothes dry cleaned at the address where YELP said we would find Liad Messinger and Locksmith NYC! It is amazing how you find things, isn't it?  I know, I know! Earlier in this journey we found a Google listing for Pro Locksmth Service 24/7 with the same telephone number as Locksmith NYC, we can always check that out because it is just across the river at 378 Duncan Ave. Jersey City, N.J. 07306. Or is it?  378 Duncan Ave. Jersey City, N.J.  Intersection of 378 Duncan Ave. Jersey City, N.J. Exhausted and disappointed, it appears trying to find ALOA SPAI member Liad Messinger and his Locksmith NYC company was like playing Where in the World is Waldo. So, at the end of our journey down the rabbit hole, we find ourselves with our heads spinning as if we spent a weekend partying with Timothy Leary, not knowing if it was real or a dream or a psychedelic trip on LSD. In this altered state of designed chaos, the lines are blurred and the good becomes bad, and bad becomes good, up is down and left is right; where locksmiths ask themselves, "Who in the World Am I? Am I real or am I fake?" A riddle with no answer at a Mad Hatter Tea Party with DJ Tsour Lee Adato and his Marky Wahlberg smirk jammin' the techno Rave style (Honestly, the guy puts out some good sound!) So whatever the reality of things may be, L&L Lead Services is looking to open "Franchises" in your area. Click here to learn more about L&L Lead Service. If they get the calls, and you need the work, then it may be an opportunity to consider. As for the ALOA Security Professionals Association, well it looks like Oops, They Did it Again! Locksmiths, state and local legislators, news media, and the consumers have been barraged with the idea that locksmith licensing is the solution to stopping scams. The Society of Professional Locksmiths strongly disagrees. The SOPL has properly and responsibly pointed out that those identified by news reports as being scammers are in fact state licensed which, eliminates the ALOA SPAI strategy that licensing is a long term solution. We all have seen and heard all the news stories and rhetoric with vivid descriptions as to what constitutes a scammer operation. False names, multiple addresses, multiple websites, fictitious locations, and bait and switch pricing, etc. If we all took the advice from the ALOA SPAI leadership and their Find A Locksmith directory, then it would appear that every locksmith in the country should apply for work with L&L Lead Services, I am seriously considering it! Since ALOA SPAI is promoting them directly or indirectly, it must be legitimate, right? Everything we have discovered in the rabbit hole contradicts their public talking points and member directives. But we are in the rabbit hole after all, so the scam may reach deeper than our senses can decipher, or this is all make believe. You just never know who is who, anymore. One thing is certain, and that is the Society of Professional Locksmiths has been warning everyone about the perils of the rabbit hole for a long time. Up is down, right is left, a bizarro world where scammers are legitimate and legitimate locksmiths are the scammers. Scumbags are members with licenses and honest members must be controlled and regulated. It's pretty tough believing just who the Locksmiths You Can Trust are. When things are right under your nose and you cannot discover it, then it certainly is cause for great concern, and calls into question the motivations of those feeding the news media, legislators, FTC, consumers and most of all - the locksmiths - all of the false narratives. For those who claim they are The Authoritative Voice of Locksmith and Security Professionals, they sure seem clueless to me. Of course, reality sometimes is stranger then fiction and who knows just whose voice they really are. Maybe the real scumbags are the ones calling others scumbags. I find myself at the end of this journey right back where I started and rethinking the question - Is ALOA & the Scammers one in the same? What do you think?  L&L Headquaters according to Mike Lee Google +
31 Comments
Licensed and concerned locksmith
9/15/2013 03:21:34
I was recently contacted by L and L in my area. They told me they were a "maintenance company" needing a locksmith to help them out, to which I said sure I can help. Everything was fine until they told me to " charge as much as possible" because the customer was locked out. I charged my normal rate, gave the lady a card and warned her to call me next time, not them. I was constantly bombarded with anonymous robo calls until I blocked all unknown calls from my iphone. The article was just for enlightenment. A question was asked that could not be answered since paradox which the reader and even myself is left scratching their heads. I see no problem with an employer or even L&L trying to earn as much as the market will bear. Locksmiths for years have whined how they should be paid like doctors and lawyers and it sounds like L&L was trying to support those wants. Your sniping a customer by giving her your business card instead of highlighting L&L is not cool. they fed you lead, it is their client which you are servicing on their behalf. 9/15/2013 03:33:03
Great article, i've run across some of these same websites while researching scammers.
Cesar L
9/15/2013 05:40:01
I had the same experience with my phone and my website. Strangely both were high jacked and my phone would ring – even when I had someone right in front of me calling from the Google phone link – their phone trilling and my phone dead silent. I could get calls when people called me direct but not when they utilized the Google link- the way 95% of my customers would reach out to our company.
Cesar L
9/15/2013 05:52:43
They have recruiters nationwide that purchase local cell phones for lead services or some numbers are provided by Google and then those calls get forwarded to their call centers who then dispatches the nearest service positioned within 15 minutes of consumer location via Google Maps. This are little foot prints in the sand because the real steps are way ahead of Us!! Information needs to be provided to The IRS in order to stop scam. I have developed a new system to Stop Scam and prevent future ones but need to get Insurance Companies on board because they do not acknowledge that the scam exists. My system once in place is guaranteed to save Billions!
Cesar L
9/15/2013 06:23:35
You can Google keywords Locksmith Scam and those Google Sponsored fraudulent ads you will see them right above, Lol Shame on Google must read that article about Google Adwords 500M Government Settlement Suit about the illegal sale of drugs online they cater well to those $20k-$50k campaign do not protect consumers. 9/15/2013 06:48:46
In the information shared above, it was Premier Business Solutions that had a default judgement in Wisconsin not L&L.Lead Service.
Mike D.
9/16/2013 06:51:22
Bout time somebody exposed the right people.........Good Job Tommy!! 9/16/2013 06:59:34
Can you say "Boiler Room"? I wonder if the 'dispatchers' get a cut of the cash too? 9/16/2013 07:32:27
Excellent work. Ours is not the only industry being targeted in this manner. The methods of fraudulent business generation shown here run through many other service businesses as well. It is a shame for us as honest locksmiths and our potential customers that this exists. Thank you for your willingness to research, investigate and bring this to light.
Steve
9/16/2013 07:57:47
I did a search of Locksmith NYC on the ALOA site and it is no longer there. Your right. Not sure why that would happen. ALOA SPAI cleared them first in order to have them in the directory which means they found them and their activities to meet their standards. What those standards are is unclear. ALOA SPAI has a Scammer Task Force as well as a Private Investigator from what I understand as well and I see no indication that Locksmith NYC was deemed unworthy of being a Locksmtih You Can Trust. It is rather unfair to have removed it now since they are a LICENSED company. ALOA SPAI has made if very clear that licensing is what makes you legitimate. Locksmith NYC must be legitimate and therefore reinstated.
Andrew
9/16/2013 11:28:58
My name is Andrew and I'm a locksmith in Detroit MI , I just want to say that i work with L&L for over a year now , they are a great company and i cannot disagree more with the author of this article. I never had any price issues with L&L and they never ask me to over charge the customers , the opposite is true , you can't over charge on their leads or they will take you off their network. from my experience they are not the "scammers" that out there , there is nothing in this article pointing to any illegal or scam practices all i see is a company doing a hard SEO online so company like mine and other will get more jobs ,what's wrong with that??
Andrew, at no time was L&L accused of being a scammer. In fact if you re-read the story you will see there were several references that they must be legitimate because of licensing and affiliation. there is also a recommendation for locksmiths to sign up with them and check them out if they needed work. there is nothing wrong with lead gen companies and I even stated I am considering registering myself.
Andrew
9/16/2013 15:39:53
Tom,
C L
9/16/2013 23:56:08
This guys are well connected and are changing everything about their daily operations like vehicle wraps/magnets, uniforms and those active Legitate Locksmith will wear their badges from ALOA they're now laughing at all media reports and all Investigators. They have more support than ALOA & SOPL combined together with Legitimate and non active members and are the Locksmith to go to people because after all this years ALOA & SOPL failed them in protecting Their Members for the last 14 years and counting. They're getting to burried all investigators with paperwork that will keep you busy for the next 20 years. All investigators are afraid to move forward due to past Law Suits and they will dismantled ALOA & SOPL and them becoming The Locksmith School.
Mike
9/23/2013 19:45:12
Could this be one of the L and L trolls trying to distract people from the evidence. I would really like to know how they obtain all these leads as I have never run across an L and L lead service advertising on the internet. Is it Possible that most of there leads are generated by their portfolio of listings with false addresses all over the country. Or how about a portfolio of websites using fake names and misleading locations. Tom I think you just lit a path to a group of locksmith impersonators. I would like to also add I don't know any self respecting locksmiths that work for places like this. I would advise anyone that is thinking about it to think a little harder.
Ohn - Precision Locks
9/16/2013 16:18:19
I also would like to say a small thing about L&L Services,
Andrew, I both agree and disagree on some things. I am sorry you feel the way you do but please re-visit the article.
C L
9/17/2013 22:51:17
People need to stop all the nonsense here. This scam birth place is all Insurance Companies Emergency Roadside Assistance Motor Clubs. They outsourced call centers giving them a blue print of their daily operations and creating a mirror image underground service providers targeting their Reimbursment clients online and directly from those call centers. The scam works like this, when clients call when in need of their services they will dispatch their primary service providers free service (local contracted) for a low $14-$23 per completed call but when the client calls that participate in their Reimbursment program or those paying cash they dispatch the scammers directly due that they can charge American consumers hundreds of dollars. Those coming forward supporting L&L why do you guys mislead consumers than charge them huge prices then living behind bogus receipts with lower amounts? When The IRS come knocking please come forward then when this is a multi-billion yearly scam nationwide of unpaid taxes. About L&L feeding you guys leads some of those leads are stolen from legitimate businesses that with the help of Google they jacked people calls and then forwarded to their call centers. The reason why local advertising does not work for honest people due to Google bad old habits. Read article of June2013 on wired magazine about Google Adwords 500M Govertment Settlement Suit of illegal sale of drugs an online sting on how they cater to those $20k-$50k monthly campaigns. No one stands a chance. Same Google Scam different industries. The scam is a mirror image of Roadside Assistance Motor Clubs broken down in the same demographic by Nationwide Zip codes.
Joe Pickmann
9/18/2013 15:16:31
Why not use L&L ( like Angie"s List, Service Magic, ABM, JLL, any other referral company) instead of stealing other companies names like Pop a Lock, Millbrae locksmith, Daly City Locksmith, Novato Locksmith, Affordable Locksmith, AAA Locksmith, all these companies have worked and built their reputations but these people have done nothing but pray on customers that are desperate. Just look at the business they "refer" Tow Services, Lockout Services,
Anthony
9/25/2013 11:28:09
I diasgree with this article complete what is wrong with a company who uses internet marketing and seo to get exposure to gather leads and then sell em or even do a 50/50 split with local on site service providers?? do i miss something?? i would think that is a legit lead generating business who sells the leads to locksmiths in the area because they are to cheap to invest into marketing or a website and seo(search engine optimization) to get ranked themselves in their area and gather the calls and leads.
Anthony, so you are the company handling their SEO & Marketing?
Mike
1/6/2016 16:50:12
Anthony, I see that you admit to being part of this criminal enterprise. Its just so amazing that scumbags like yourself actually try and claim they are doing nothing wrong. How about wire fraud. Yes you are part of it. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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