Setting Up Fake Wi-Fi Hotspots on Raspberry Pi

[Mutt]

Fake Wi-Fi hotspots are created to bypass anti-fraud systems that check geolocation against neighboring Wi-Fi hotspots. To set up a fake Wi-Fi hotspot (e.g. for testing or creating a honeypot) on a Raspberry Pi, you can use tools such as hostapd and dnsmasq. Below is a step-by-step guide for setting up using a Raspberry Pi (using Raspberry Pi OS as an example). Make sure you have a Wi-Fi adapter that supports Access Point mode.

Requirements:​

• Raspberry Pi with an OS installed (e.g. Raspberry Pi OS).
• A Wi-Fi adapter that supports AP mode (e.g. built-in Wi-Fi on Raspberry Pi 3/4 or an external USB adapter).
• Superuser rights (sudo).
• Connect to the Internet (for example, via Ethernet or a second Wi-Fi adapter if you want to distribute the Internet).

Step 1: Update your system​

1. Connect to your Raspberry Pi (via SSH or terminal).
2. Run the commands to update the system:
   

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install the required packages​

Install hostapd (to create an access point) and dnsmasq (for DHCP and DNS):

sudo apt install hostapd dnsmasq -y

Step 3: Setting up the Wi-Fi adapter​

1. Make sure your Wi-Fi adapter supports AP mode. Check this with:
   

   iw list

   In the output, look for a line with AP in the Supported interface modes section. If it is not there, your adapter does not support access point mode.
2. If you are using built-in Wi-Fi (eg wlan0), temporarily disable its management:
   

   sudo systemctl stop dhcpcd
   sudo nmcli radio wifi off

Step 4: Configure hostapd​

1. Create a configuration file for hostapd:
   

   sudo nano /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf

2. Add the following settings (replace wlan0 with your interface if different):
   

   interface=wlan0
   driver=nl80211
   ssid=FakeWiFi
   hw_mode=g
   channel=6
   macaddr_acl=0
   auth_algs=1
   ignore_broadcast_ssid=0
   wpa=2
   wpa_passphrase=YourPassword
   wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
   wpa_pairwise=TKIP
   rsn_pairwise=CCMP

   • ssid: the name of your fake Wi-Fi hotspot.
   • wpa_passphrase: password for connection (at least 8 characters).
   • channel: Wi-Fi channel (1-13, choose the least busy one).
3. Specify the path to the configuration file:
   

   sudo nano /etc/default/hostapd

   Find the line #DAEMON_CONF="" and replace it with:
   

   DAEMON_CONF="/etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf"

Step 5: Configure dnsmasq​

1. Create a configuration file for dnsmasq:
   

   sudo nano /etc/dnsmasq.conf

2. Add the following lines:
   

   interface=wlan0
   dhcp-range=192.168.1.2,192.168.1.100,12h

3. Set up a static IP for the Wi-Fi interface:
   

   sudo nano /etc/dhcpcd.conf

   Add to the end of the file:
   

   interface wlan0
   static ip_address=192.168.1.1/24
   nohook wpa_supplicant

4. Restart dhcpcd:
   

   sudo systemctl restart dhcpcd

Step 6: Enable Routing (Optional)​

If you want devices connected to the fake access point to have access to the Internet (via Ethernet or another interface), set up routing:

1. Enable packet forwarding:
   

   sudo nano /etc/sysctl.conf

   Uncomment or add:
   

   net.ipv4.ip_forward=1

2. Apply changes:
   

   sudo sysctl -p

3. Configure NAT using iptables (replace eth0 with your internet interface):
   

   sudo iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE
   sudo iptables -A FORWARD -i wlan0 -o eth0 -j ACCEPT
   sudo iptables -A FORWARD -i eth0 -o wlan0 -m state --state RELATED,ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT

4. Save the iptables rules:
   

   sudo sh -c "iptables-save > /etc/iptables.ipv4.nat"

   Set up autoload rules:
   

   sudo nano /etc/rc.local

   Before exit 0 add:
   

   iptables-restore < /etc/iptables.ipv4.nat

Step 7: Start the services​

1. Start hostapd and dnsmasq:
   

   sudo systemctl unmask hostapd
   sudo systemctl enable hostapd
   sudo systemctl start hostapd
   sudo systemctl enable dnsmasq
   sudo systemctl start dnsmasq

2. Reboot your Raspberry Pi to check:
   

   sudo reboot

Step 8: Verification​

• After rebooting, find the FakeWiFi network on your device (eg smartphone).
• Connect using the specified password (YourPassword).
• Make sure your device has an IP address (e.g. 192.168.1.x) and, if necessary, internet access.

Additional tips​

• Logging connections: To analyze connections to the fake access point, you can set up logging in dnsmasq or use tools such as tcpdump:
  

  sudo tcpdump -i wlan0

• Security: If this is a honeypot, make sure the access point is isolated from your main network to minimize risks.
• Wi-Fi Channel: Use a tool like iwlist wlan0 scan to select the least crowded channel.

If you have any questions or problems with the settings, write and I will help!