Recall alert: 61K biometric gun safes recalled

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a recall of 61,000 biometric gun safes.

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The Fortress Safes’ biometric lock can be opened by people who are not authorized to do so because of a programming feature.

The CPSC said a programming feature can lead people to believe that they’ve set up the safe correctly while it remains open in its default mode, allowing anyone, including children, to open the safe and remove whatever is contained inside.

The federal agency said it is aware of a lawsuit in which a 12-year-old boy allegedly died after a firearm that was one of the safes was accessed. There have been 39 other incidents where someone was able to gain access despite their fingerprints not being in the system.

The CPSC said the safes include portable lock boxes, personal safes, pistol vaults and gun cabinets sold under the following brand names and model numbers:

• Model: 11B20, Fortress Portable Safe with Biometric Lock
• Model: 44B10, Fortress Personal Safe with Pop up door and Biometric Lock
• Model: 44B10L, Legend Range & Field Personal Safe with Pop up door and Biometric Lock
• Model: 44B20, Fortress Medium Personal Safe with Biometric Lock
• Model: 55B20, Fortress Quick Access Safe with Biometric Lock
• Model: 55B30, Fortress Large Quick Access Safe with Biometric Lock
• Model: 55B30G, Gettysburg Large Quick Access Safe with Biometric Lock
• Model: 4BGGBP, Cabela’s 4 Gun Safe with Biometric Lock
• Model: 55B30BP, Cabela’s Biometric Personal Safe

They were sold at various retailers, including Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Scheel’s, Sportsman’s Guide, Optics Planet, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Gander, Rural King and Lowe’s. They were also sold online on Amazon and eBay. The gun safes were on the market from January 2019 through October 2023 and retailed for between $44 and $290, the CPSC said.

Owners should not use the biometric readers and should remove the batteries and contact Fortress for a free replacement at 833-588-9181 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT Monday through Friday. You can also visit the company’s website.

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