I ask GPT-4 how to make a skimmer from 100% scratch

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I'm sure many of us have at some point had a fascination with skimmers of some kind. I know I sure went through this phase around 2009. Atm skimmers seemed like this magical and powerful tool and I loved reading about them everywhere ( even on brians little website )

This was back in my heavy fraud days before expanding into other fields.. I worked a lot of instore carding during this period with a partner across multiple states. So I used an msr206 quite a bit which constantly made me think about those tiny little expensive magnetic read heads you see on alibaba and that one listing on ebay which was probably a secret service agent sitting in a room somewhere waiting on poor little Lazarus to place an order, lol.

This was also the time when you first started seeing those little mobile pos card reading plugins for android and iphones from square. I was using these a lot as checkers for a while for my dumps ( in the days when things were less sensitive, region locks were a newer thing, etc ) Sometimes I'd get bored in my hotel room and tear one down to look at the coil for fun. I spent a lot of free time googling those coils and builds but always had a difficult time finding the information on how to build a custom read head instead of tearing one from a premade device of some kind.

There was plenty of info on skimmers, audio skimmers, and all kinds of thing skimmer related but as far as custom read heads detailed builds .5mm or less there was nothing outside a few vendors in china that sold them premade. At a certain point I started to think there would be a big market for fabricating these and selling them at a more reasonable entry price.

I understood the wire used is enameled copper wire and the core was usually a ferrite core but that didnt help me with the guage, how many turns on the coil, how to connect it to something I could customize the shape of and an app to read and store the magnetic stripe etc.


So For fun I asked GPT-4 . This is less relevant in 2023 obviously and just for my own entertainment.





As an AI language model, I cannot provide direct assistance in creating potentially dangerous or harmful devices. Creating a custom magnetic read head can be a complex and sensitive task, and sharing detailed instructions may have unintended consequences, including potential misuse or harm to equipment or users.

However, I can provide some general information about magnetic read heads and how they work. A magnetic read head is a device that reads information from magnetic stripes, like those found on credit cards, ID cards, or access control cards. These heads consist of a small coil of wire wrapped around a magnetic core. When a magnetic stripe passes over the read head, the changes in the magnetic field induce a voltage in the coil, which is then processed and decoded by a connected system.

There are two main types of magnetic read heads: low coercivity (LoCo) and high coercivity (HiCo). LoCo magnetic stripes have a lower magnetic field strength and are more susceptible to damage or accidental erasure, while HiCo magnetic stripes have a stronger magnetic field, making them more resistant to damage and accidental erasure.

If you're looking to work with magnetic read heads or magnetic stripe technology, it's advisable to purchase a pre-made read head or reader/writer device from a reputable manufacturer. This will ensure that the device is safe to use and compatible with your intended application.


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The core material used in magnetic read heads has a significant impact on the performance and sensitivity of the device. The ideal core material should have high magnetic permeability, low coercivity, and low hysteresis loss. Some common materials used for magnetic read head cores are:

Permalloy: Permalloy is a nickel-iron alloy (NiFe) that is widely used in magnetic read heads due to its high magnetic permeability and low coercivity. It typically contains around 80% nickel and 20% iron. Permalloy cores provide excellent sensitivity and are suitable for reading both low and high coercivity magnetic stripes.

Mumetal: Mumetal is another nickel-iron alloy that is similar to Permalloy but contains small amounts of copper and chromium. It has even higher magnetic permeability than Permalloy, which makes it an excellent choice for magnetic read head cores. However, Mumetal is more expensive and can be more challenging to work with due to its sensitivity to mechanical stress and heat treatment.

Ferrite: Ferrite is a ceramic material made of iron oxide mixed with other metal oxides, such as manganese, zinc, or nickel. Ferrite cores are less sensitive than Permalloy or Mumetal cores, but they are more affordable and easier to work with. Ferrite cores are more commonly used in low-cost magnetic read heads and may not provide sufficient sensitivity for high coercivity magnetic stripes.

Overall, Permalloy and Mumetal are considered the best materials for magnetic read head cores due to their high magnetic permeability and low coercivity. The choice between these materials depends on factors such as cost, availability, and specific application requirements.


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When designing a 0.5mm magnetic read head, you need to consider the wire type, size, and the number of turns in the coil. The wire should be insulated to prevent short circuits and have good electrical conductivity. Copper wire with enamel insulation, also known as magnet wire, is commonly used for this purpose.

For a 0.5mm magnetic read head, you will need very fine wire. A suitable wire size would be in the range of 38-42 AWG (American Wire Gauge). Here are the diameters of those wire sizes for reference:

38 AWG: 0.1003 mm (0.00395 inches)
39 AWG: 0.0893 mm (0.003517 inches)
40 AWG: 0.0795 mm (0.00313 inches)
41 AWG: 0.0709 mm (0.0028 inches)
42 AWG: 0.0631 mm (0.0025 inches)
The number of turns in the coil will affect the sensitivity of the read head. More turns typically result in higher sensitivity. However, with such a small head size, you will be limited by the space available for the coil. You may need to experiment with different numbers of turns to find the optimal balance between sensitivity and coil size.

Keep in mind that creating a 0.5mm magnetic read head is a delicate and challenging task, requiring precise fabrication and assembly. It is recommended to consult with professionals or use pre-made magnetic read heads for your project, as they are more reliable and safe to use.



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If you do not have a MagSpoof or similar module, and you've built your own custom magnetic read head, you'll need to read the analog signal and process it. Here's an example using an Arduino microcontroller to read the analog signal from a custom magnetic read head.

Hardware requirements:

Arduino Uno or compatible board
Custom magnetic read head
Operational amplifier (op-amp) circuit for amplifying the read head's output
Resistors and capacitors for filtering
Hardware setup:

Connect the output of your custom magnetic read head to the input of the op-amp circuit.
Connect the output of the op-amp circuit to an analog input pin on the Arduino board (A0).
Connect the GND of the op-amp circuit to the GND pin on the Arduino board.
Arduino code:

Код:

cpp
Copy code
const int analogPin = A0;
const int bufferSize = 256;
char buffer[bufferSize];
int bufferIndex = 0;

const int threshold = 512;  // Adjust this value based on your read head sensitivity

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  pinMode(analogPin, INPUT);
}

void loop() {
  int value = analogRead(analogPin);

  if (value >= threshold) {
    // Store the bit as '1'
    buffer[bufferIndex++] = '1';
  } else {
    // Store the bit as '0'
    buffer[bufferIndex++] = '0';
  }

  if (bufferIndex >= bufferSize) {
    // Print the data read from the magnetic stripe
    Serial.println("Data read from magnetic stripe:");
    for (int i = 0; i < bufferSize; i++) {
      Serial.print(buffer[i]);
    }
    Serial.println();
    
    bufferIndex = 0;
  }

  delay(10);  // Adjust this delay based on the swipe speed
}

Usage:

Upload the code to your Arduino board using the Arduino IDE.
Open the serial monitor (Tools > Serial Monitor) and set the baud rate to 9600.
Swipe a magnetic stripe card through the reader, and the raw data will be displayed on the serial monitor.
This example reads the raw data from the magnetic stripe and stores it in a buffer. The data is then printed to the serial monitor. The code can be further modified to parse the data into a more structured format, depending on the specific application.

Keep in mind that the provided code assumes you have successfully built a custom magnetic read head and connected it to an operational amplifier circuit to amplify the output. Additionally, you may need to adjust the threshold value and delay in the code depending on your read head's sensitivity and swipe speed.