Read and spoof masgtripes with MagSpoof V5

This tutorial will walk us through the new features of MagSpoof V5 and show how easy it is now to have the complete package for auditing magnetic stripe cards

The hardware

MagSpoof V5 — A major update

This new release of the MagSpoof compared to the previous versions, includes major updates like:

• Antenna coil built into the PCB.
• UART exposed pins for connecting an external magstripe card reader.
• Console commands support, for easy and quick emulation. This allows it to connect to any device with USB-Serial support, like a smartphone (Android).
• EEPROM programming access, for storing the card tracks. Make sure your card's data is always ready for emulation.

Magstripe readers

We used two different readers for this project, one with a USB connector and another with 4-wire end. Both readers work the same way as a POS does.

The reader has a header containing coils that generate a magnetic field. As the card is swiped, the magnetic field interacts with the magnetic particles on the stripe, inducing a small electrical current in the coils. Then there is a decoder, an electronic component that interprets the electrical signals generated by the read head, converting them into digital data that can be understood.

Using the reader

Now that MagSpoof has exposed UART pins, we can connect an external UART reader to the board and have the whole suit in our pockets.

Firstly we tested the magstripe reader using an oscilloscope, just to be sure which wire was RX and which was TX, and also confirm it was working. We utilized a real bank card, swapping it through the reader and then decoding the information obtained in the oscilloscope. If you know how your reader works, you can skip this.

Note: The trigger and decode oscilloscope's features are your friends in this process.

Now we have confirmed the reader works, and the read data is correct, it is time to prepare MagSpoof.

By default, MagSpoof has exposed the UART pads. Since our reader has a female header, we decided to solder a 4-pin male header in the MagSpoof for a fast and easy connection.

Something to highlight is that our reader has the same wire array as the one used on MagSpoof so no need to do weird things to the reader or MagSpoof to have a MagSpoof-compatible plug-and-play reader. You can solder it to the board as well if needed.

The real portable magstripe spoofing tool

Using MagSpoof with a computer to read through a terminal is what everyone may expect (read “The classic way to use a MagSpoof”), but with this new MagSpoof version, we have a real portable tool.

Either powering with a battery through the battery pads or with a phone using the USB-C cable, we can now read, save, and emulate card data.

Along with the serial commands for MagSpoof, we can connect the board to our smartphones using a Serial USB app like Serial USB Terminal for Android to read what is in the MagSpoof's memories and to add new data or simply play the tracks.

The workflow is quite simple, and it is shown in the video, check out the commands here below for a better understanding:

• h : "Help", display the available commands.
• s : "Save", save the data from the RAM to the EEPROM.
• p1 : "Play track 1", emulate the saved data in the RAM defined as track 1.
• p2 : "Play track 2", emulate the saved data in the RAM defined as track 2.
• p : "Play", emulate alternatively both tracks.
• d: display what is saved in the RAM.
• e: display what is saved in the EEPROM.

The classic way to use a MagSpoof

You can still use MagSpoof as before. Use a PC, connect a USB external reader, and use the commands to play tracks or reprogram it. You can check the video below or the tutorial for MagSpoof V4.

To add the card information directly in the code, follow the Wiki instructions for MagSpoof V4/V5. The code link is in the attachment section for quick download.

The Big Wrap-Up

As a quick reminder: We strongly advise only using cards and data for which you have legal authorization. Any unauthorized use may result in legal consequences.

This tutorial showed you a little peek at what you can do with the new MagSpoof along with the serial commands sent from a smartphone.

Hope you have enjoyed this tutorial, and we are looking forward to your feedback and projects using MagSpoof V5.

Take a look at other tutorials: https://www.hackster.io/ElectronicCats