One Reddit user recently shared their discovery of a fake 16TB SSD purchased from eBay for under $30 (~RM122). Instead of a high-capacity drive, the enclosure only contained a small board, a microSD card, and some weights hot-glued inside to mimic the feel of a legitimate SSD.
u/Hartkralle explained that they regularly purchase suspicious storage devices from questionable listings to help expose fraudulent sellers. Thanks to eBay’s buyer protection policies, they are able to recover their money while the scammers risk losing their accounts.
16 TB SSD for only 25€? What could go wrong?
byu/Hartkralle inpcmasterrace
While some users appreciate the effort, others pointed out that scammers could simply create new accounts shortly after being removed. However, u/Hartkralle argued that even a temporary disruption prevents them from scamming more buyers and provides additional evidence that these types of scams do exist.
Moreover, fake storage devices are far from a new problem, with similar scams dating back decades. One Reddit commenter recalled receiving low-quality VHS tapes in the 1990s that were advertised as higher-capacity recordings that could only store a fraction of the expected footage.
The fake SSD discovered by u/Hartkralle is also considered a relatively simple scam compared to newer counterfeits. Due to memory shortages, some fake SSDs now closely imitate popular models like Samsung’s 990 Pro, making software checks such as CrystalDiskInfo one of the easiest ways to verify authenticity.
Beyond missing out on advertised speeds, fake drives pose a much bigger risk, which is potential data loss. The “16TB” SSD purchased by u/Hartkralle only contained a 60GB microSD card, meaning users who exceeded that limit could unknowingly corrupt their own files or lose them entirely.
While buyer protection policies can help recover losses, they don’t undo the potential damage caused by these scams. By the time users realise their “16TB” drive is actually a tiny memory card in disguise, their data may already be long gone. It’s good to remember that when it comes to storage, a deal that seems too good to be true usually is for a reason.
(Source: Tom’s Hardware, Reddit)
