diff --git a/src/freedombone b/src/freedombone
index f2cdbdba..f2fb5759 100755
--- a/src/freedombone
+++ b/src/freedombone
@@ -7521,11 +7521,11 @@ function gpg_key_exists {
   else
       KEY_EXISTS=$(gpg --list-keys "${key_search_text}")
   fi
-  if [ ! $KEY_EXISTS ]; then
+  if [ ! "$KEY_EXISTS" ]; then
       echo "no"
       return
   fi
-  if [ $KEY_EXISTS == *"error"* ]; then
+  if [ "$KEY_EXISTS" == *"error"* ]; then
       echo "no"
       return
   fi