Why does eBay not protect you against flash memory fraud from China? Have you ever wondered why? In 2009 SOSFakeFlash explained why eBay does not protect buyers:
If you read this article you will understand why there is such a long history of flash memory fraud on eBay specifically from eBay sellers in China.
Four years later there is a new twist. Many frauded buyers on eBay fought back against Chinese fake flash memory sellers. Powerseller id’s fell, one by one thanks to an aggressive effort by eBay members. There were two groups of people:
Those who contacted other buyers and warned them to test – FakeFlashMemory angels.
Those who decided to behave like the sellers, they used very unorthodox methods, aggressive and not clean – FakeFlashCommandos.
The two groups were very different in ideology in how to fight the issue. It caused a division in the FrankenFlash project. Those who believed in following “process” and those who did not.
One site was horrified SOSFakeFlash might publish exactly how flash memory chips could be altered, they actually thought it would lead people in Western countries to do it. What they did not take into consideration was the time and effort involved in the alternation. Why bother when you can import from a Chinese wholesale site so much cheaper, no personal effort involved? Why risk using the wrong tools and destroying inventory? Will we publish how it is done? Yes, eventually we will. Fact is, it is one of the important exercises technical team members are required to perform as proof of their knowledge and understanding of manipulating flash chip storage technology.
SOSFakeFlash does not have a mandate to police people’s thoughts or actions. We only report what we know and have investigated. It is up to each reader to decide how to react or respond. How you respond will probably tell you a lot about yourself. It can be very revealing.
-
Some people read, then fight for a refund and disappear.
-
Some report the seller to eBay and then file for refund.
-
Some examine the seller’s history, realize they have to be clever and sneaky. Especially when nobody left negative feedback, they play along, get their refund, leave positive, then stab the seller in the back. How? By sending us full documentation on the seller, even home addresses. While you might think this is not exactly clean, what would you do when you are the only one dealing with an aggressive and nasty eBay fake flash memory seller. Fact is, the seller hasn’t a clue which buyer reported. Do we like this? No. Do we understand this? Oh yes we do! Do we take the frauded buyers report and put it in the database? Yes. And with pleasure, especially when we get the background from investigators. There are cases when a buyer doesn’t have a choice and we understand.
-
Some report the sellers to us with evidence, then they file for a refund.
-
Some think that when eBay refunds them, it was because of their own efforts, not the fact that FrankenFlash project sites have been turning up the heat for over 5 years. Sadly they forget the buyers in 2008, 2009 and 2010 who never got a refund. Many refused to return items as they knew the items would be resold and would violate postal regulations in their countries.
-
Some people, shocked, leave negative feedback, report to us, then fight their claim.
-
Some people leave negative feedback but when they get a refund, change the feedback to positive. They got their money back but are not concerned about what happens to the other buyers for the seller.
-
Some people warn others, fight their claims and no matter how the sellers might try to play games or insult them, stand their ground.
-
Some people learn fast. They are very sharp. Okay, they made a mistake, they learned from it. They might feel a bit stupid about being scammed, but it does not take them long to understand what is going on. They are people who get the facts and do not jump to conclusions.` They dig into the subject on the internet. They become either a FakeFlashAngel or a FakeFlashCommando. Both fight back.
So 5 years later what is the correct path in fighting flash memory fraud? Especially on eBay?
Well what we can see in hindsight is, people who believed in “Process” were dead wrong. They gave up. If “Process” worked, then the issue would be history, not longer an issue on eBay.
In recent months, eBay China has suddenly become very aggressive in selling fake memory. Why?
We don’t know. SOSFakeFlash can speculate on the fact that China has entered a serious recession. Factories and Fab’s are closing. There is a hugh inventory on low capacity flash memory chips nobody wants. Local brick and mortar stores, especially chains, are offering genuine flash memory at discounts never seen before, probably because of the surplus in flash memory chips, changing technology and new flash memory chip speeds.
The internet exposure on fake flash memory eBay China has increased. eBay China id’s have a very short life. eBay is in trouble, they can not afford to alienate Chinese eBay sellers. eBay would lose about 70% of their business if they actively went after fraudulent Chinese sellers. eBay would most likely shut down in a few months. It is the ugly truth.
You can expect an avalanche of China eBay ids to continue offering fake flash items.
If you bought a flash memory item from ruanyurong – China eBay seller you are advised to test item(s) immediately for advertised capacity. You may have purchased a fake flash memory product. H2testw is the software to test true capacity for flash memory. It is used to test memory cards, mp players and usb flash drives. It is free to use and download. A linux alternative to H2testw also exists. To understand what H2testw does and download read: H2testw 1.4 – Gold Standard In Detecting USB Counterfeit Drives
If your memory item fails testing report immediately to SOSFakeFlash . If your eBay seller is deregistered from eBay, it is urgent you report in to SOSFakeFlash. If you do not, they will not be able to investigate and to record in their database to publish an offical alert listing all items sold. eBay is suspending fake flash memory sellers to avoid buyers leaving feedback or recording the truth.
Never use any flash memory item without testing for capacity. If you purchased a fake you could lose your files and data. Read: Why Is Fake Flash Memory So Dangerous?
Please see Validation Memory links for brand names and flash nand memory chip decoding. Reminder, Gb is Gigabits, not Gigabytes. 8 bits is 1 byte. You must divide by 8, if manufacturer lists size as Gb. Exercise care in disassembly of your item to decode.
If you need help and information on eBay read:
Check your eBay Sellers feedback, type in the id: http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs
ruanyurong – China
$New USB 256G 256GB Flash Memory Pen Stick Thumb Drive$ $16.99 US
Eye-Fi Pro X2 Wireless SD SDHC Memory Card 8GB NEW $15.55 US
NEW 32GB MicroSD SDHC card 32 GB Class 10 with SD Memorette $14.22 US
Brand New 32GB Micro SD Card SDHC Memory Card $14.11 US
Fake 32GB SD SDHC And MicroSD Cards On eBay. The Sale Of Fake Memory Cards Increasing on eBay.
Reports:
Global Report – eBay Fake Memory 2008 – 2009
Crises on Ebay For Fake Flash Memory Products Sold In 32GB 64GB 128GB 256GB – SOSFakeFlash Reports
Memorette:
Counterfeit Memorette Micro SD/SDHC Cards Fakes. 32GB 32Go Class 10
Memorette 32GB Micro SD/SDHC Card – Did You Buy One On eBay?
Memorette Assistence, please read information provided by Memorette Overseas Sales Manager. Memorette Inc is ready to provide you with important information, including who the sellers of genuine Memorette products are.
Why Are DT310 USB Flash Drives So Cheap?
See this video by By OutlawedMedia on DT310 Kingston DataTraveler Fakes.
Exposing Fake/Counterfeit USB Drive!
See what a fake counterfeit DT310 usb flash drive looks like for yourself. OutlawedMedia opens it up for you to see what is really inside!
Can You Fix Fake DT310 USB Flash Drives?
Kingston read:
Kingston Technologies Offers Help To eBay Victims Frauded With Counterfeit Flash Memory
Kingston DataTraveler 310 DT310/256GB Fake USB Flash Drives Flooding eBay! Fraud Warning.
Don’t forget to leave the calling card of “SOSFakeFlash” and “H2testw” in your feedback to help others. Do not change your feedback to get a refund – you will only create more victims.
SOSFakeFlash 