Hunter Cat
A card skimmer detector: checks a card reader before you insert your bank card, and reports the result on 3 status LEDs.
Price range: $41.00 through $46.00
- ATMs — insert and remove Hunter Cat like a card to check the reader before using your own.
- Gas station pump card readers.
- Payment terminals (point-of-sale card readers).
In the box
Printed user manual
Electronic Cats sticker
Not included
You also need
- Presented at DEF CON 27 (2019), the year Hunter Cat launched.
- Designed and built in Aguascalientes, Mexico
- Hardware CERN-OHL v1.2 · firmware GPL-3.0
What Is Hunter Cat?
Hunter Cat is a card skimmer and card cloner detector by Electronic Cats. It checks the number of magnetic stripe reader heads inside a card reader — an ATM, a gas station pump, or a payment terminal — before you insert your own bank card. To use it, you insert and remove Hunter Cat the same way you would a normal card; it reads the reader in about a second and reports the result on 3 onboard LEDs: Ok, Warning, or Dangerous. It runs on a single CR2032 coin-cell battery and needs no app, firmware, or setup — it is plug-and-play. Hunter Cat is meant for consumers checking a reader they are about to use themselves, not for testing devices they do not own.
Catch a Skimmer Before You Pay
Make Checking the Reader a Habit
Away From Home, Check First
Start in 10 minutes
| Weight | 0.105 g |
|---|---|
| Power source | CR2032 3V coin-cell battery (user-replaceable) |
| Form factor | Same width and height as a standard bank card (slightly longer); magstripe sensor positions follow ISO 7810/7816 |
| Status indicators | 3 onboard LEDs: Ok, Warning, Dangerous |
| Front contacts | 4 metal contacts that mimic a chip card to trigger ATM card-slot sensors (not electrically connected) |
| Low-battery behavior | Below about 2.85V the LEDs stay on and the reset button stops responding until the battery is replaced |
| Battery included | No — CR2032 3V coin-cell battery not included; purchase separately |
| In the box | Hunter Cat v1.1 device, Printed user manual, Electronic Cats sticker |
| Packaging | Box or bag — same contents in both |
| Version sold | v1.1 (hardware revisions v2.0/v2.1 exist but are not the version sold in the store, |
| Works with | ATMs (cash machines), Gas station pump card readers, Payment terminals (point-of-sale readers) |
| Documentation | Printed manual included; PDF manual also available (English/Spanish) |
| Version | Microcontroller | Sold in the store today |
|---|---|---|
| v1.1 (current) | SOIC-package chip (model not public) | Yes |
| v2.0 | CH552 / CH552G | No — hardware revision, not the store version |
The Electronic Cats store sells Hunter Cat v1.1. Newer hardware revisions (v2.0, v2.1) exist in the engineering history but are not the version shipped today.
