Fight Back
If you have been a victim of fake flash purchase(s):
Please read the category for your situation. You might want to print as your action plan.
- Internet purchase General
- Local Retailer
- eBay
Internet Purchase General
If you have been able to confirm you have a counterfeit flash drive and the seller did not refund you and or the seller refused to test and respond to you with the results (confirming your fake or denying there is an issue, note: a counterfeit drive is not defective – it has been digitally altered – reprogrammed to lie about it’s size) – please report the internet site and seller to your local law authorities and to the law authorities in the country where the site exists (if different from yours).
If the fake is a “Brand Name” report to the Brand Name Company. Given them the name and location of the site where the counterfeit item was sold.
Local Retailer
If you bought the flash device in a local store, it is very possible that the seller is not aware the item is a fake. Take the following steps:
1) Produce a printout of the test results from H2testw 1.4 – keep your computer text file do not delete.
2) If you have a digital camera, photograph the device, the packaging and also the sales receipt
3) Proceed to the retailer and explain that he has counterfeit drives for sale, show the output.
a) If the seller refunds you, ask him to test and remove the devices for sale. Return in a few days or have a friend return to the store to see if the items have been removed for sale.
b) If the seller refused to refund you or if the devices are still for sale a week or two later, report to the local police and present your evidence (test results, photos) and ask them to visit the retailer and to have the devices checked.
If the seller is cooperative, do not be angry – understand the seller could be a victim like you. Be helpful and suggest this site for the seller to learn more about the issue. He will need to contact his wholesaler or whomever sold him the drives. You had a battle of one or two fake flash items, he may have boxes full. Worse he may have sold many drives and could have a lot of angry customers coming soon. Advise the seller that he should refund and also to have the angry buyers visit our site. Tell the seller that he should explain that a customer warned him and so he went to this site and tested his drives learning he had been sold bad merchandise. This is why he is refunding – immediately (an apology can also make a big difference too).
Do not think all members of our groups are buyers – we have sellers working in this project – they are victims just like you see: eBay Sellers Can Be Victims – How Does This Happen? they are working side by side with buyers to fight the problem.
eBay
1. Test your drive.
2. File a Claim with Paypal
3. Report the seller to eBay
4. Report the fake to us (see report fake tab)
5. Contact eBay Buyers who bought the drive you bought – ask them to test. Tell them about this site.
6. If the seller is still listing the model do as FakeStopper suggests:
So I suggest to everyone, go to your listing which you brought and it fake, click on “report this item”, select “fraudulent listing” and select the list from there.
Do this especially when the listings are private auctions! They are in violation of eBay’s intent for the auction of this type. Search this site to understand why private auctions are so lethal and against what ebay intended them for. Fake Flash sellers are abusing them to hide their fake flash deeds.
So the more people to report the item the higher chances the seller will be stop!
You might get a sore wrist from mousing on 5 and 6 , but channel your anger and frustration to positive action. Save a few more eBayers! We need more volunteers – the number of victims just too many. If they indeed have fakes – pass the torch to them – get them to contact more eBayers and rescue them from fake flash flames. The march against fake flash began with just one person… It did not take long before others joined and now we are a project against fake flash!
Do Delight in overloading eBay with reports on the bad listings. An ice bucket of reports might get them to wake up to a seller. By reporting the listings – especially private auction ones, you will help them to zero in and focus their attention on these sellers. If you consider how many listings there are on eBay, they do need help. Oblige!
It’s time eBay started deliver what they promised….improved buyer experience. Since Spring 2008 – it more a nightmare “experience” for those who bought flash devices on eBay – anything but pleasant!
As for Paypal – expect a fight. Research this site. You might get a quick refund or you might have to put on your boxing gloves. If your seller deregistered you can still get your money back. Many of us did. Do not let them run away with your money. PayPal and eBay have to take ownership for permitting the sale of fake flash for so many years without setting proper guidelines and safe guards for this type of merchandise. All victims agree on one thing, both eBay and PayPal have earned a great deal of money allowing fake flash sellers to do business under their tent.
Did your fake flash purchase on eBay bring you misery and frustration? Data loss? Money loss? Fight back.
mad teacher said
Today a “new” Chinese Seller (qingchushangwangjilu) of 16GB flash drives appeared. Seller was using a new id (0 feedback) and put up at least 48 identical listings starting with (I think) Item number: 270313386508 which ended on 08-Dec-08 15:42:05 GMT ending with Item number: 270314662194 on 11-Dec-08 05:08:06 GMT.
Bidder ID’s are kept private. Listings are only over a 3 day period. Answer to the question: There seem to be a lot of Flash drives which have less capacity than stated. Can you gaurentee that your drives will store over 15GB of files without file loss or corruption? Have they been tested to ensure this?
Was: i think this usb driver is not suitable to you.sorry
Speaks for itself, I think. Seller has been reported to Ebay – for as much good as that does!
Jester said
hi,
every messages i sent to complaint-response@paypal.com got a drone like copy pasted reply.
i then tried to escalate to executiveoffice@paypal.com, then got more copy pasted crap.
i got mad and swamped their adresses, then i got someone who almost took time to type a reply….
this is what i got : nothing! they feel they reviewed correctly even if no one actualy got me a straight answer. i wanted my SNAD claim swith to fraud, but they don’t liten, they want me to send the item back.
here is the last email i got, which for once dosn’t appear to be copy pasted:
_________________________________________________________________
Thank you for contacting PayPal.
Again, I apologize for any inconvenience caused regarding this matter.
Please be advised that this is our final response to your inquiry. While we understand you may not be satisfied with this response, we have reviewed your account and the matter thoroughly and we feel that we have taken the appropriate actions or provided ample information to address your concerns. Please be advised that further contacts regarding this matter will not change the outcome or our response.
Sincerely,
Russ
Executive Escalations
PayPal, an eBay Company
_________________________________________________________________
since i refuse to be bullied, i will keep on sending 50 emails a day until someone finally takes responsibility and investigate.
i would appreciate any tips on how to escalate to a real inquiry, or if anybody who didn’t get a refund yet want to team up to fill their email boxes with complaints.
thanks
Randy said
When dealing with a local vendor, a key phrase to use would be
“false and misleading representation”
If the flash memory card came in a package or the card had a label indicating the capacity then there may be “Consumer Packaging and Labelling” regulations that are applicable. This is the case in Canada, and I expect other countries have similar laws or regulations. There could also be other applicable consumer laws, in the area of advertising and consumer protection.
Randy said
Ebay & International Law
http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/international-trading.html
eBay insists that listings and transactions comply with the laws of the countries where both the seller and the high bidder reside. Users are responsible for ensuring that their transactions are lawful in both countries. eBay strongly suggests that users educate themselves about the laws of their own country and the countries where they plan to do business.
In addition the paypal / ebay complaints that you may submit for the fake flash drive, you may also want to consider submitting policy complaints on the seller. Some potential areas that a seller may infringe on local laws or regulations in your country.
Starting with the mailing package that the flash device was shipped in. Hopefully, you still have the mailing package.
Starting with the Customs declaration (CN22 form). Did the seller indicate that the product was a gift? If so, this is not true, and your country customs laws should consider this to be fraud. Is the description on the CN22 correct? If not, then your country customs laws may be infringed. Did the seller indicate the country of origin? If not, then again your customs laws may be infringed.
The CN22 form contains the following declaration.
I, the undersigned, whose name and address are given of the item certify that the particulars give in this declaration are correct and that the item does not contain any dangerous article or articles prohibited by legislation or by postal or customs regulations.
If the seller did not complete the form correctly you could also complain to the postal authorities is the sellers country and Ebay.
Regarding the contents of the package, did the flash drive or the packing that it came in have “country of origin” markings? If not, this could be in violation of your countries customs laws or consumer protection laws
Rodel said
I am still bugging PayPal and my credit card company regarding my refund as they both do not show sincerity in all of our email communication. In the mean time, I already started contacting buyers of 8GB, 16GB and 32GB mp3, mp4 and flash drives from different sellers. I told them to visit this site and download the tool to verify the true storage capacity of the item that was sent to them and to bug PayPal for a refund if proven fake.
Bo (Atomic) said
Rodel. Well done you. Keep sending messages to the ones that you suspect have been conned. Everybody that you contact helps this site. (It takes some of the VAST pressure that the originators of this site are under).
InspectorTech said
Hey Bo & Rodel
We do appreciate everyone helping out! The pressure is incredible for us. I need help for fixing fake flash – advisors for those in trouble. So if people could track and answer comments at this site or mine, it would help a lot.
I have been helping out FlashChipTutor – who is investigating and researching nand technology again… He wants to publish some interesting information on nand chip technology (SSD – those new solid state drives) but fake flash keeps calling…
Just look at this comment everyone:
http://flashdrivefacts.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/64gb-sony-microvault-counterfeit-fake-usb-flash-drive-model-number-usm64024/#comment-285
Do we have the first genuine counterfeit sony microvault discovered at a true capacity of 64GB? Bought on eBay too. If it is really 64GB Sony will be very interested to know.
See my response. Looks like sony updated their ebay warning recently. The last line shows that we are getting results. People are reporting to sony. Looks like the Flash Drive Facts site is helping to fight back.
BTW Sony knows about us. They were contacted quite a while ago. So if you have a Sony fake, report the testing results using the report a fake tab to us, then contact them (see my comment at that site for info) too.
Barry said
Another false flash drive seller; zuzieq56, “genuine” 32GB Samsung flash drives which are really 4GB drives. I got burnt but i aint gonna burn alone. Zuzieq56 is gonna burn with me!!
KittyFireFlash said
To Barry
You will have to work very hard, zuzieq56 is part of a nasty counterfeit ring. As usual many eBay members are being frauded and little is being done about it. At issue is the need for eBay members to contact others. This is how the project began Barry. Unfortuantely not enough people reading the information presented here choose to act.
Read: http://sosfakeflash.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/zuzieq56-ebay-fake-flash-seller-high-alert-china/
and the comment I left about the connection uncovered.
The senior team members have their hands full just trying to investigate and document. We can’t be everywhere at once. We need the frauded members of a seller to take action. What “Kind” of action they chose at this point is up to them. Frankly the situation is out of control.
Anyone who expects or thinks eBay will do something is dilusional. They go out of their way to protect the sellers. Sales for flash memory products on eBay is an important cash cow for them. There is an American saying “Money talks, B*llshit walks”. It is up to eBay members to do something. No one else will.
So to “burn” zuzieq56 requires effort and commitment. Begin by reporting in to sosfakeflashdrive@gmail.com using the report a fake tab. Then start contacting people who left positive feedback.
zuzieq56 is not listing right now, he has crawled under a rock. Nothing new there. If people contact buyers who left postive feedback and warn them to test and then to march to paypal demanding refunds, yes, you can start to “burn” zuzieq56 where it hurts, in the pocket book!
Victims of zuzieq56 need to write and call eBay and make their life HELL for allowing a seller like zuzieq56 to get away with it.
It’s up to you. Let fraudulent eBay sellers run away with your money, or do something about it.
Micro said
One Success for a Flash Angel:
A member was informed about h2testw by reading the information presented in an eBay auction listing (one that eBay did NOT take down)
The content of the reply from this member was passed on to me. It reads
Dear -XXXXXXX
After running the H2tesw scan on two memory sticks I bought from
Hong Kong, both came back as ringers. One a half gig masquerading as a 4GB and a 2GB pretending to be a 4Gb. Two different Hong Kong sellers. So the scan was appreciated and I have opened a paypal dispute with one and waiting for a response from the other.
Thanks again.
-YYYYYYY-
This is another example proving the worth of testing ALL flash memory no matter what it’s source BEFORE risking it with your valuable information, and especially BEFORE issuing feedback to the seller.
Sara M said
I have recently reported a fake SD memory card, and would like to contact the other buyers of the item (ebay item 170387638859, which is still visible). However, isnt it strictly against eBay policy to contact other members regarding an issue such as this? I do not want to lose my account with a policy violation, but do feed the others should be notified, (and the seller has been a real jerk). Advice?
Sara
fightflashfraud said
Hi Sara M,
There is absolutely nothing in ebay policy to stop you sharing your buyer experience with others who bought the same item. The only pitfall is that if you try to warn everyone at once ebay will think you are a spammer – in which case they would treat it as a policy violation.
If you warn no more than 4 other victims in any 24 hour period (starting with the first person who bought and ending with the last) it will probably take you about 10 days to warn everyone who didn’t realise they got a fake (as it seems 30 of these were sold), but we don’t see how ebay could object.
Sara M said
A note on the Paypal dispute. Even though I had closed the claim with Paypal for item not received, after a phone call to Paypal (and she complimented me on doing my homework, thank you sosfakeflash!), they reopened the claim and allowed me to change the claim to “item not as described”. As most folks dealing with Paypal know, once a claim is closed, it cannot be reopened (at least this is what we are told).
As a platinum powerseller, it appalls me that eBay is not being proactive with this issue, as it will only drive away (more) buyers.
After reading this blog, I received in the mail today a Nintendo DS game (also from a US based seller). After doing a bit of research on DS Game fakes, I found out it too is a fake. Thanks for the education, and please, for the sake of all that is good and right, (and data loss), FIGHT ON!
Sara M
Nigel said
How about this for cheek, after ndspro gave me a refund, he then filed for non-payment.
This is his reply when I asked him to explain.
Hi friend
Don’t worry please
If you help me follow-up the words below
Just copy and paste it under the bad feedback you left me
I am willing to remove the bad feedback for the seller
I will close the dispute and send you a small gift to you
And we still friends
Do you agree?
When you complete the follow-up,just confirm your full name and address to me
i will send you the small gift for sure
I hope you can help me
Many thanks
If you have any questions,feel free to let me know
Best wishes
ND
- ndspro
Micro said
Nigel this amounts to feedback extortion, I think you need to keep copies of all these communications and take up the case with eBay, you should be able to request them to review your feedback and/or unpaid strike.
Good luck and thanks for revealing the details of a seller for all to avoid.
fightflashfraud said
This just shows how nasty the fight is getting. Seller ndspro was reported on back in June 2009. Seems our oriental fraudsters are now beginning to show their true colours. They are still being “polite” but are now threating buyers!
Don’t fall for bribery or blackmail folks. If you bought a fake then leave the seller a negative – preferably including sosfakeflash and h2testw in your comment. Do not be bribed or blackmailed into revising your feedback. Instead leave a follow-up comment indicating that the seller tried to blackmail or bribe you!!
If you revise your feedback you are just helping the frauster and creating more victims.
InspectorTech said
FakeStopper is currently on assignment outside of the eBay arena and is unfortunately all too familiar with “send you a small gift to you” .
It is a very old tactic. The carrot and the stick (read pike).
Nigel make sure to keep these email communications. If they are only inside of eBay, forward to your personal email address to preserve.
Nigel said
Successfully appealed against my strike.
ndspro still has his -ve.
And eBay gave me £20 to say sorry.
But he is still selling fake SD cards on eBay
Are these novelty 32GB flash drives from China genuine? « Fighting flash fraud on Ebay said
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