Hacker News Reader

Comment by umsm | Hacker News Reader

I don't know if the design is effective... what prevents anyone from installing a skimmer on/within this device?

Current skimmers need a horizontal swipe to read. This device requires the user to insert the card in the wrong orientation for the skimmer. The device holds onto the magnetic strip end of the card while it rotates, so it's not possible to skim after the device has performed the rotation. It's not clear how difficult or easy it is to make a skimmer that reads a card that is swiped vertically, though.

But, think about if a criminal duplicates the design and screws it to the front of existing / old machines? Most users will think that it's not a skimmer but the "secure" device.

Also: Place the skimmer to the LEFT most portion of the horizontal hole. The card is the rotated and pushed past the skimmer as it's inserted into the machine :)

> Also: Place the skimmer to the LEFT most portion of the horizontal hole. The card is the rotated and pushed past the skimmer as it's inserted into the machine :)

The non-magnetic part of the card is pushed past the skimmer...

It looks like the maximum amount a track can hold is 79 7-bit words [1], which comes out to 553 bits. Theoretically, a parallel reader would need 553 sensors, which seems fairly easy given today's manufacturing standards.

[1] http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/debt-managem...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com