How come some people can just get free subway ride by simply bending the metrocard in certain way? although it is not new, but i still can't figure out the "science" behind this. I mean how it can trick the card reader.
anyway, did anyone try it yourself? does it work? if yes, tell us how...coz it would save us some big bucks while the greedy MTA still looking for fare hikes.

I haven't tried it but if you break the magnetic strip in exactly the right place, you disable the part of the code that stores the number of rides/$$$ left on the card.

a friend of mine always tried to bend his card when riding the subway, but it never worked. He's wasted quite a lot of cards, but he never made it.
I'm sure with some luck some guy achieved success, but with a lot of luck to find the exact spot.

I never heard of these before!

I haven't tried it but if you break the magnetic strip in exactly the right place, you disable the part of the code that stores the number of rides/$$$ left on the card.
your "break" means bend it or really cut it?

I never heard of these before!
i thought this thing is known by almost every new yorker. Well, i guess if you pay more attention, you occasionally may see a guy standing in front of turstile and people would give him a dollar, then he will give the "customer" a sweep by using that "free metrocard". Earning a dollar per sweep.
I remember seeing ad in subway car telling people not to be their "customer". You know, MTA just doesn't want even couple bucks slipping out of their fingers.

It is stealing, though. It figures the TA would object.

This is the idea behind it: normally, if you accidentally scratch/bend your card in a spot that makes it impossible for the turnstile to read the magnetic strip properly, if you swipe it about 3 times the turnstile will just let you through, assuming you really did have money on the card. That's to avoid too much hassle for people who scratch/bend up their card by accident. But of course, some people figured out certain spots where you can deliberately bend an empty card to simulate a card that was actually damaged by accident.

The bit pattern on the Metrocard's magnetic strip looks like this:

http://www.techfreakz.org/oldstuff/data2.gif

It's basically a barcode, which represents a string of numbers (1's and 0's) that determines the card's value.

Folding the card hides a portion of this pattern from the machine, and changes how much it's worth.

i used to do that all the time until i got caught by the cops

u pick up a used card it has to be a fare card none of those unlimited or fun passes. then u swipe it it says innsuficiant fare u bend it with your nail in the black stripe once then u swipe again until it says please swipe again when u see that u straithen it out and swipe u only get 1 ride per card. so if u pick up a bunch of used cards u can make 500 bucks a day

:D

http://www.rion.nu/v5/post/050604/IMG_2003lg.jpg


http://www.rion.nu/v5/post/040704/IMG_1045lg.jpg


Mmmm...griiiits
http://www.rion.nu/v5/post/040704/IMG_1044lg.jpg

NY1

Bending MetroCards For Free Rides Is Costing The MTA

NOVEMBER 07TH, 2004

A scam to bend MetroCards to get free subway rides reportedly costs the Metropolitan Transportation Authority a quarter million dollars each year.

Scheming riders are able to – illegally – bend the magnetic strip on empty cards to get them to work in turnstiles.

Black market dealers staked out in subway stations sometimes sell such rides for 50 cents.

The so-called “bendies” cost the MTA over $250,000 in annual lost revenues, according to the New York Post. But that’s still just a drop in the bucket of the estimated $16 million the agency loses each year to fare evasion.

yeah metrocard millionaires you won't exactly hear someone talking about how swipers bend the cards online. c'mon some of these cats make alot of money off of this, and it is really unbelievable. personally I don't object to it, but I also think of the downside, this sh*t might kick itself in the ass and be the cause of another fare hike eventually

but they really cut down on this, I remember like a two years ago the swipers were everywhere..