MAG-100 Magnetic stripe card reader This is a heavy-duty, professional unit. This reader was made by Exico industries for acces control applications (reading emplyee ID cards to allow entry to sensitive areas). The power supply is very hefty, and can handle the 24-hour a day strain of security applications. The reader outputs the read data to a serial port with dip switch settable communications protocols (From 300 to 19.2 K baud, 7 or 8 bits, parity, etc). Obviously, anything with a serial port can read out the data (laptop, palmtop, PDA, calculator (HP48 for example)). This reader will last forever and is ready to use, unlike TTL-level reader 'kits'. Our price of $295.00 is a bargain for this industrial strength reader.

Click here to see a series of pictures of the reader.

MAG-101 Credit card authorization machine This is the same type of authorizer that is used in stores to process your credit card. We have obtained a number of these readers at a good price, so we are releasing them for sale to experimenters and hobbiests at a great bargain. These devices work, and are brand new in packaging from the "Discover" credit card company. We have the passwords for them but we do not yet know how to get them to spit out the card number to the screen when you swipe the card. Our competition sells them for $195.00 and implies that you can use them to read cards! Our price is only $39.95!

Click here to see a picture of the authorizer.

MAG-102 Multi-function credit card hacker's tool.
This amazing device is a new addition to our magnetic stripe hacking section. It is intended to be a credit card charging machine, similar to those found at your local department store to process your credit card purchase. This particular model has some VERY useful features, though.

First off, if you were to attempt to purchase a credit card acceptor, you would have to sign into a lengthy contract and pay hefty monthly leases on the machine, or have to pay the retail price of $1500-$3000 for it. And that's only if you own a business! The average consumer cannot even obtain machines like this. Our price on this verifier is so low that even regular stores are interested in it, as they can save themselves thousands by buying it and connecting it with a credit card service provider.

If you simply plug in the verifier and included printer/signature capture pad, you can 'swipe' a credit card through and the terminal will allow you to enter a purchase amount. The terminal will then print a receipt with the cardholder's name and credit card number on it (obtained through the magnetic stripe), complete with purchase amount, and a box for a signature. The system will even prompt the 'customer' to sign the receipt on the signature capture pad, using the included pen (the included pen has an electrical connection and sensor that allows for signature capture. It plugs into the side of the printer) The verifier will then attempt to pick up the fone line and call into a central verification computer to process the payment!! We have not tested this function as we do not want to mistakenly charge anyone's credit card. We imagine that the service contract for these verifiers has been cancelled and the unit would not be able to actually debit a card.

Aside from the 'normal' uses outlined above, this machine has an amazing 'Test mode' wich really shows off the unit's capabilities. There are over 20 functions available in the test mode menu (Please see the pictures page to see this unit in operation. You can get a feeling for the quality of the unit when you see its large ALPHANUMERIC keypad and backlit LCD display.) but some of the most interesting are covered here:
Card swipe test. This function allows you to 'swipe' ANY type of card (not just a credit card, but a driver's license, calling card, gas card, store card, employee or student ID card, door access card, 'meal card', etc...) and it will SHOW YOU what information is stored on the card. Whatever data is encoded on the magnetic stripe is displayed on the screen! If it is longer than 30 characters, you may use the function keys to scroll left and right and read all of the info. Here at Hacker Central, we had fun swiping many different cards through our sample verifier. We found that credit cards have the customer's full name encoded on the stripe, as well as the account number and expiration date (In plain text!). There are a lot of other characters on the screen, but we don't dare to guess what they mean. Most of the different employee ID and student ID cards that we ran through the machine showed us the Social Security number of the owner. Some also had the name and other personal information on the card (student ID number, year of entry (fall 96, 01/95, etc...). We found it astonishing that our MCI and AT&T calling cards had the PIN number stored in the magnetic stripe WITH NO ENCRYPTION! (Even the cards that did not show the PIN on the front of the card). We wonder if the phones that accept mag-stripe calling cards actually verify the PIN on-line or just against your card...
You would be amazed as to what is encoded on those little pieces of plastic sitting in your wallet!

The next neat function is 'test embossed card' where you place a card into the front slot of the unit and it actually READS the raised numbers from the front of the card with amazing accuracy! We are not exactly sure how this is accomplished (nobody has the heart to take apart our sample unit) but the device actually 'feels' the embossed numbers on your credit card and displays them on the screen. Again, you can scroll through them with the function keys. We can't think of a useful application of this feature but it sure is COOL!

There are tons of other interesting features that we have not explored yet (we believe that the unit could be used as a regular phone, plus the printer and handwriting capture options have not even been tried out yet!) but the 'test card swipe' option alone is worth it!

We will bring you more informtion as we get it. As of right now we only have one unit to sell (aside from our sample) and we do not have any pictures yet. This item has a central unit with a telephone handset, large keypad, large backlit screen, and many connectors for other options (serial connector 1,2, and 3). The central unit is run by a heavy-duty power supply. There is also a seperate printer (included) with a special pen that plugs into it as well as a built-in handwriting sensor pad. The printer also comes with a seperate heavy-duty power supply. We include all of the wiring and cables to connect everything together.

We are negotiating to obtain more of these units, but for now our low Hacker Central price is only $124.95 each! Remember, these units cost $1500.00 to $3000.00! We obtain these units from distressed businesses that are liquidating their assets and pass the savings along to you.
Sorry! temporarily sold out!

See pictures of the multi-purpose card machine, showing operation, screen shots, and output.

Last modified on Thursday, July 22, 1999