Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!watmath!watdragon!rose!trgauchat
From: trgauchat@rose.waterloo.edu (Terry Gauchat)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Magnetic encoding on cards  -  SUMMARY and QUESTION
Message-ID: <15459@watdragon.waterloo.edu>
Date: 27 Jul 89 15:28:28 GMT
References: <2549NU013809@NDSUVM1> <2587NU013809@NDSUVM1>
Sender: daemon@watdragon.waterloo.edu
Reply-To: trgauchat@rose.waterloo.edu (Terry Gauchat)
Organization: U. of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 34

In article <2587NU013809@NDSUVM1> NU013809@NDSUVM1.BITNET (Greg Wettstein) writes:
}Here are a collection of replies that I received regarding the format and
}recording density of the magnetic strips commonly found on bank cards
}and credit cards.

}From: jimb@athertn.Atherton.COM (Jim Burke) ----------------------------
}This is interesting.  I happened to stop at a gas station near Clear Lake
}California a few weeks ago and they used magnetic stripe technology to
}operate their gas pumps. 
}The pump
}must write to the card in order to erase the credit.  It seems like there
}is room for abuse for this system if card reader/recorder devices were
}readily available unless they used one heck-of-an encryption scheme on
}the cards. 
}
}
}From: george@rebel.UUCP (George M. Sipe) ------------------------------
}The pump may just be reading a fixed ID from the card and passing that info
}to a 'central' micro over in gas station HQ.  Not much different than a bar
}code.
}


Our school library (and others) uses these type of cards ("Vendacards")
for photocopiers.

You prepay to get $5.00 credit, and the copier removes 5 cents for each copy.

Copiers are spread over campus, so a central computer is unlikely.

Also, the Vendacard for this school doesn't work at the other (though they
look the same...).

...Terry.