Fake memory still being sold on eBay and Amazon

⚠️ Article status notice: This article has been marked as incomplete

This article needs additional work to meet the wiki's Content Guidelines and be in line with our Mission Statement for comprehensive coverage of consumer protection issues. In particular:

1. sources are not cited within the text

This notice will be removed once the issue/s highlighted above have been addressed and sufficient documentation has been added to establish the systemic nature of these issues. Once you believe the article is ready to have its notice removed, visit the discord and post to the #appeals channel.

Learn more ▼

This Article Requires Additional Verification

---

This article has been flagged due to verification concerns. While the topic might have merit, the claims presented lack citations that live up to our standards, or rely on sources that are questionable or unverifiable by our standards. Articles must meet the Moderator Guidelines and Mission statement; factual accuracy and systemic relevance are required for inclusion here!

Why This Article Is In Question

---

Articles in this wiki are required to:

• Provide verifiable & credible evidence to substantiate claims.
• Avoid relying on anecdotal, unsourced, or suspicious citations that lack legitimacy.
• Make sure that all claims are backed by reliable documentation or reporting from reputable sources.

Examples of issues that trigger this notice:

• A topic that heavily relies on forum posts, personal blogs, or other unverifiable sources.
• Unsupported claims with no evidence or citations to back them up.
• Citations to disreputable sources, like non-expert blogs or sites known for spreading misinformation.

How You Can Improve This Article

---

To address verification concerns:

• Replace or supplement weak citations with credible, verifiable sources.
• Make sure that claims are backed by reputable reporting or independent documentation.
• Provide additional evidence to demonstrate systemic relevance and factual accuracy. For example:
  • Avoid: Claims based entirely on personal anecdotes or hearsay without supporting documentation.
  • Include: Corporate policies, internal communications, receipts, repair logs, verifiable video evidence, or credible investigative reports.

If you believe this notice has been placed in error, or once the article has been updated to address these concerns, please visit the #appeals channel on our Discord server: Join here.

Counterfeit flash memory with Fake Capacity on eBay and Amazon

Overview

Counterfeit flash memory, such as USB flash drives, SD Cards and Solid State Drives, with falsified storage capacities are a prevalent problem on popular online marketplaces such as eBay, Amazon, and AliExpress. These fake drives are often advertised with large storage capacities at attractive prices but in reality contain significantly less memory. This deceptive practice can lead to data loss, frustration, and financial loss for unsuspecting buyers.

How counterfeit flash memory works

Fake USB drives are typically modified devices that report a higher storage capacity to the computer than they physically have. For example, a drive advertised as 128 GB might actually contain only 8 GB of real storage. When users try to store data beyond the actual capacity, data corruption, overwriting, or loss occurs.

This is achieved by manipulating the drive’s firmware to falsely report the larger size to the operating system. Because the drive appears legitimate during basic use, many users do not realize they have purchased a counterfeit until data begins to fail. Additionally, these counterfeit drives will often use defective NAND memory, which can cause poor performance, unreliability, and premature failures.

Common Signs of Counterfeit Flash Memory

• Unusually low price compared to market value
• Seller feedback and reviews indicating issues or counterfeits (Amazon and AliExpress in particular are well known for fake reviews and removing negative feedback which makes counterfeit drives look more convincing)
• Inconsistent physical appearance, packaging, or branding, often, but not always, pretending to be a well-known brand such as Sony, Xiaomi, and Sandisk.
• Performance issues such as slow read/write speeds or frequent errors
• Storage capacity tests revealing less capacity than advertised

Impact on Consumers

Consumers purchasing counterfeit drives risk losing important personal or professional data. These drives may fail without warning, and data recovery is often impossible, especially due to the fact that most of the data will have likely been overwritten, possibly several times. Additionally, counterfeit drives undermine trust in online marketplaces and can damage the reputations of legitimate sellers.

How to Detect Fake USB Drives

• Use software tools such as H2testw (Windows), F3 (Fight Flash Fraud) (Linux/Mac), or ChipGenius to verify real capacity.
• Check seller ratings and reviews carefully.
• Avoid deals that seem "too good to be true."
• Prefer purchases from reputable brands and authorized dealers.
• Avoid unbranded or off-brand drives.

Marketplace Response and Regulation

Both eBay and Amazon have policies against counterfeit goods and work to remove fraudulent listings. However, these policies are rarely enforced and thousands of fake items, not just flash memory are listed on these platforms, sometimes for years without being removed.

Preventative Tips for Buyers

• Purchase from official brand stores or verified sellers.
• Test the USB drive immediately upon receipt. It is highly recommended to use H2testw or F3 (Fight Flash Fraud) to write to the entire drive to test the performance and integrity of the flash memory. If the performance is much lower than expected, or you encounter errors, you should return the drive immediately.
• Be cautious of heavily discounted drives claiming unusually large storage.
• Keep evidence such as receipts and product packaging for dispute resolution.

References

• H2testw Tool Official Website
• Fight Flash Fraud (F3) GitHub Repository