How Do You Alter Flash Memory Chips To Lie About Their Real Capacity – Do You Want To Know More?

Are you curious to know how Flash Memory Chips are altered to lie about their real capacity? Over 85% to 95% of all memory cards, MP3 MP4 Players and Usb flash drives sold on eBay are fake capacity.

Warning! eBay 32GB 64GB Fake Flash Memory Outbreak – USB Pen Drives.

SOSFakeFlash has noticed an escalation in fake memory for 32GB 64GB usb pen drives on eBay.

Corsair Confirms That eBay Is A Source For Counterfeit Non Genuine USB Flash Drive Purchases

Corsair usb flash drives are being counterfeited. They are seen on eBay for sale. FlashDriveFacts just published: Corsair USB Flash Drives – Buying And Selling – A Guide.

Corsair now has to warn people too. SOSFakeFlash is already aware of the problem. Victims have reported in for their purchases from eBay. One even created a website to document the eBay transaction and disassembled the fake for everyone to see.

Did You Leave Positive Feedback For A Fake Flash Seller Of MP Players, Memory Cards Or USB Flash Drives Purchased On eBay?

Did You Leave Positive Feedback For A Fake Flash Seller Of MP Players, Memory Cards Or USB Flash Drives Purchased On eBay? You are not alone!

Most people only give a quick inspection of their item, they don’t test the full advertised capacity. Afterall, who expected to receive a false capacity item in the first place? Never test by looking at what the operating system tells you about the size, that is the classic trap!

Fake items advertised at 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 120GB, 128GB, 240GB, 360GB, 500GB, 512GB have been digitally altered to lie about their real capacity. Test with H2testw.

You can add to your positive feedback, by doing “Follow Up FeedBack”! Let everyone know the truth!

By putting keywords such as “SOSFakeFlash” and “H2testw” along with the real size and the word FAKE, you can warn others. Fake Flash Sellers hate it! Victims love it!

Don’t forget, if you are still in your claim window race off to PayPal and file a dispute against the seller to get your money back.

Proving A Fake USB Flash Memory Pen Drive Stick Pen To Be False Capacity – A Visual Example – Guide Made Easy

A Fake usb flash drive, is a memory pen stick that has been digitally altered – reprogrammed to lie to an operating system about the real size of it’s flash nand storage chip.

SOSFakeFlash Quick Note 20090814

Feature: saffronspas Ebay Fake Flash Seller Alert – United Kingdom It’s about counterfeit Flash Voyager GT usb flash drives.

The victim known under the pen name of CaptainVoyager, documented his fake carefully – even took it apart to show everyone what you can expect to find.

You will find InspectorTech’s article and CaptainVoyager’s webpage interesting!

We don’t just publish alerts at SOSFakeFlash, we publish your stories. If you would like send us your story at sosfakeflashdrive@gmail.com we are happy to receive it. Note: we will not publish you under your eBay id – unless you insist. You must chose a name or ask us to. Your privacy is important. You can also document your fake at your own website or page and send us the URL address.

SOSFakeFlash Quick Note 20090811

Feature: ebidetrade001 Ebay Fake Flash Seller High Alert Devious – Hong Kong read and learn about fake flash from a victim and the FrankenFlash Project’s research on flash drive chips.

MP Players On Ebay – Current Prices For Cheap Fake 2GB 4GB 8GB 16GB 32 GB SOSFakeFlash’s Report

The FrankenFlash Project hopes you found the The Truth About MP Players Sold On eBay – SOSFakeFlash Education Week For Consumers launched on June 24th, 2009 helpful. Here is our summary on fake mp players. List Updated August 6th, 2009

Kingston Technologies – How To Verify Capacity Offered By Product Line For USB Flash Drives

Do you want to find out what the real capacity sizes are for usb flash drives manufactured by Kingston Technologies. It is easy with their feature for searching their consumer usb flash drive products. You can select the capacity and see which product lines offer the desired capacity. It is a great search consulting tool and part of Kingston’s effort to combat those who would like to sell cheap imitations of their products or try to super boost older models to report wild unrealistic capacity sizes to operating systems. To consumers these are known as counterfeits and fakes!

Almost all major brand names are currently under attack from counterfeiters. Two companies, Kingston and Sony are fighting back. Kingston is applying additional effort to aid consumers world wide. They have a serial verification site and now have improved their search feature to show what are the capacity sizes they manufactured for a particular product line.

SOSFakeFlash Consumer Education Week 20090605 – 20090612. The Problem of Counterfeit and Fake Memory Sold On Ebay

SOSFakeFlash published a series of articles to educate consumers on the problem of fake mp players, usb flash drives and memory sticks sold on ebay during the week of June 5th 2009 to June 12th 2009. It includes information collected by the FrankenFlash Project over a 13th month period. The objective was to increase global awareness about the problem of false capacity devices being sold on eBay and to assist members to avoid buying false capacity items. These devices can be dangerous to files as they will be lost the moment the true capacity of the flash drive chips is exceeded.

The Orient – eBay Sellers Of Fake MP Players, Memory Cards, USB Flash Drives. Are You Not Getting What You Paid For?

Fake flash sellers on eBay are clever. The ones located in the Orient are professional, even polite. They have a long term view and have been in business for a long time on eBay – long before you bought your false capacity device!

Rarely rude, at least not at the at the start, they will apologize and do all they can to have you believe the item is defective or a mistake. Even point the finger at their wicked supplier for having deceived them to milk your tears of sympathy for all it is worth. They will plead saying their job is at stake. They will negotiate. They will bribe. They will tailor the story to your personality. It is an art form, part of doing business. You will not find the crude vulgarity displayed by North American scammers nor the obstinate short tempered nature of European fraudsters.

Many think the Oriental fake flash sellers are greedy. No they are not. They are moving product in volume. Since low capacity devices don’t sell, they simply dress them up to the capacity that will interest buyers.

The reality is, you simply pay a small premium for the value of possessing a counterfeit of false capacity. Known to victims as fake usb flash drives, fake mp players, fake memory cards Those who perform the digital alteration need to be be paid for their efforts. The data collected by the Frankenflash project supports this for items purchased in the Orient, for 16GB advertised capacity it is glaring. The true capacity of the flash chips are in line with the prices paid along with a small premium mark up added. Not what you were hoping to hear?

Consider the price you paid for your item then read:

• USB Flash Drives Best Price Bargains Fair Value To Sell Or Buy 8GB 16GB 32GB
• Genuine Verses Fake Counterfeit USB Flash Drives – A Guide – USB Flash Chips Used In USB Flash Drives – Grades A B C D
• What Are The Real Costs For Flash Chips In China? Guide 2009

Have a look at the average bid price a seller receives by the continent where the seller is located. Sellers in the Orient fall under “Asia”

The data is current up to the end of May 2009. Shipping charges are not tracked. If you read up on the cost of flash chips, now use the true capacity of your flash drive chip against the bid prices sellers in the Orient receive. What are your conclusions?

Unfortunately while fake flash eBay sellers in the Orient feel they are just “doing business” – the sad fact is, they are selling data poison. Buyers lose their files when it comes to usb flash drives and memory cards. The damage done has devastated many. For Buyers of MP Players, they receive aggravation and a loss of consumer confidence in buying ANYTHING that comes from the Orient.

You may find this article very interesting reading:

FAKE 16GB 32GB 64GB – Conversations Between A Fake Flash Seller and A Victim – The Truth About the Scam Exposed

naffy23k eBay Fake Flash Seller vs H2testw and eBay Victims

eBay fake flash sellers are crafty and naffy23k is no exception. These sellers will do anything to continue deceiving to sell false capacity items to eBay members. The profit is addicting, the harm done to buyer data files horrific. SOSFakeFlash, in the new consumer education series mentioned price is a good indicator of fakes, but not always. When it comes to brand names such as Kingston or Sony, the selling price can be as high as 80% to 90% of what you might find at your local retail store. The perfect trap!

naffy23k illustrates the problem on eBay. No innocent, naffy23k has been classified as devious by SOSFakeFlash selling counterfeit and false capacity USB Kingston flash memory pen drives. If you bought anything from this seller you must test. Report to SOSFakeFlash immediately using the report a fake tab.

Why has naffy23k been chosen for the consumer education series? You are going to find it hard to believe what naffy23k has said and done!

naffy23k has claimed the program H2testw 1.4 is Fake! Not his usb flash drives.

What did the eBay member buy?

This drive now discontinued by Kingston, is a 2GB flash drive well known to the Frankenflash Project.

naffy23k replied to the buyer:

Reply by naffy23k (Apr-29-09 15:01):
Buyer lost paypal claim! Item is 32GB and not fake! h2testw is a fake program!

h2testw is a fake programme? See H2testw 1.4 – Gold Standard In Detecting USB Counterfeit Drives

Now what would be “fake” about H2testw written by Harald Bögeholz? It is one of the most downloaded programmes on the internet to test the capacity of flash chips. Do you think anyone would spend so much time developing such a programme, improving it over the years if it was useless? While copyrighted, it is offered to people for free. Why? As a public service, the problem of digitally altering flash chips to lie about their real size is that bad. German attention to detail and precision is legendary. Offering an English interface shows consideration and willingness to share.

SOSFakeFlash and victims have confirmed the results of output many times. How? Take apart the fake flash device and decode the flash drive chip used against the manufacturer’s size specifications. See: Flash Chip Storage

So would this mean that eBay fake flash seller naffy23k is simply ignorant of technology and does not have a clue about the product he is selling?

Consider this, the auction showed was public. Just click on naffy23k’s Feedback and at the moment you can still see the item as it is in the 60 day listing window.

naffy23k is puffed up stating that the buyer lost their PayPal claim. It would be more accurate to say that the buyer either refused to return the counterfeit or was worn down by PayPal’s robotic emailers. A lot of buyers are unaware that they can reopen cases or email and telephone PayPal until they wake up. The fact is, victims who walk away with refunds are those who simply will not give up!

naffy23k protested that the item was really 32GB. Why then did this seller switch to private auction listings? A seller confident in his product will not to try to hide what he is selling in feedback. Read:

eBay Private Auction Listings – eBay Fake Flash Sellers Prefer – Victims Learn The Meaning The Hard Way – A Guide

naffy23k knew very well he had a problem but was determined to dump his stock and continue selling. There was only one way he could do this. Hide the truth. Unfortunately all this will do is delay detection. It does not stop the facts from coming out. naffy23k has sold many using multiple item stock listings. Just how many victims are there? The project with the help of eBay members, patrols and seeks out sellers like naffy23k and we wait….

Well does naffy23k sell true capacity now? No he does not. We have just received confirmation from another victim of fake flash seller naffy23k for a different Kingston USB flash drive.

naffy23k has been busy selling Kingston DataTraveler DT120 32GB usb flash drives. What do you see here?

Private Auctions!

So what is the real capacity of this usb flash drive? 512MB, not 32GB! We aren’t publishing the output from H2testw 1.4 here – SOSFakeFlash wants you to do your own testing on this drive!

As the time of this articles release, naffy23k isn’t listing. The auction ended early with still two more fake flash drives to sell! Obviously naffy23k knows something is up.

Every eBay listing shows this:

Does it mean anything? To a lot of eBay fake flash victims it means little. Now will eBay hold the seller to “assume” responsibility for the listing? Will eBay force this seller to refund all buyers?

The listing also shows this:

Does this mean anything? Well the FrankenFlash Project will tell you victims have something to say about this but it is not fit for print. It is spin. A lie. It is on listing pages to give a false sense of security for would be buyers. The true reality only presents itself when you discover you have bought a false capacity item. SOSFakeFlash has published: PayPal How Long Do You Have To Claim For A Refund In Disputes? A Guide About PayPal From eBayer’s Experiences. to help people deal with Paypal. It has a wealth of information to assist you and many reference articles for you consult.

Victims of naffy23k need to test their usb flash drives quickly. What is going to happen to fake flash seller naffy23k? An interesting question. Shortly, this seller will be on the fake flash sellers list when the new update goes out. naffy23k will be there to stay.

There are other fake flash sellers who tried to hide what they were up to. guruelectronics was one reported in: Investigation On Seller Using eBay Id guruelectronics Continues At SOSFakeFlash That story had a happy ending, guruelectronics was booted – to eBay fake flash prison and so far has not dared to return.

eBay is NOT a safe place to buy usb flash penstick drives, memory cards or MP players. Right now, brand names are under attack. Kingston is receiving the brunt of it. Do not buy any Kingston usb flash drives on eBay right now – it is infested with counterfeits and fake capacity!

The hottest fakes that are making money are MP Players. Both eBay and fake flash sellers are making a killing!

The most popular false capacity size at the moment is still 16GB. 16GB memory cards, 16GB MP Players and 16GB usb flash drives. 32GB and 64GB flash drives are arising, mostly for brand names. Please stay away, or a victim you will likely be! Pay a little more, buy at a local retail outlet. eBay for nand technology buying for devices with flash storage chips in these capacities will lead to a nightmare you do not need.

As victims on eBay all say: “If it is too good to be true…it usually is!”

Additional Reading:

• Full Report Ebay 200804 – 200905 Counterfeit And Fake Memory Cards, MP Players, Flash Memory USB Pensticks Sold On eBay By Seller To Help You Recognize The Fakes
• 16GB Fake Flash USB Tidal Waves Continue On eBay – Victims of False Capacity Devices Pour Into SOSFakeFlash For Help
• Fake MP Players On Ebay – 8GB 16GB Tidal Wave Of False Capacity – What Can You Do?
• MP Players eBay Stop Buying 8GB 16GB MP3 MP4 At Cut Rate Bargain Prices SOSFakeFlash Advises
• FAKE 16GB 32GB 64GB – Conversations Between A Fake Flash Seller and A Victim – The Truth About the Scam Exposed
• New! 6 Continents eBay Fake MP Players – USB Pen Drives – Memory Cards – SOSFakeFlash
• Hot! Quick Detection Genuine or Counterfeit Kingston DT150 32GB DataTraveler Michael’s Guide

6 Continents eBay Fake MP Players – USB Pen Drives – Memory Cards – SOSFakeFlash

The FrankenFlash Project has been tracking where fake Fake MP Players, USB Pen Drives and memory cards sold on eBay go. SOSFakeFlash has spend thirteen months investigating counterfeits. Presented by the six continents of Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America the information is current ending in May 2009.

What were the average eBay bid prices for the fake usb memory sticks, MP Players and memory cards investigated by the advertised capacity on eBay?

The different sites in the FrankenFlash project have been researching the cost of flash drive chips. Recently FlashChipTutor learned that the cost has doubled per Gigabyte at the beginining of the year. Previously it was $1 US dollar per GB but now is $2 US. It should be noted that this is for the smaller chips and not the latest ones. Much also depends on the quality of the flash drive nand chip.

If one uses this rule of thumb it could mean that the current cost of an 8GB chip is? 8×2= 16 $US Dollars. What would it be for

Note that the average prices are over a 13 month period of data collection. Recently we had several resellers inform us that the cost for flash chips have been rising as FlashChipTutor predicted they would. To find out what the real costs are for flash chips please read:

• What Are The Real Costs For Flash Chips In China? Guide 2009
• USB Flash Drives Best Price Bargains Fair Value To Sell Or Buy 8GB 16GB 32GB

Afterwards you might be interested in reading through this article.

FAKE 16GB 32GB 64GB – Conversations Between A Fake Flash Seller and A Victim – The Truth About the Scam Exposed

FAKE 16GB 32GB 64GB – Conversations Between A Fake Flash Seller and A Victim – The Truth About the Scam Exposed

Why are fake usb pen sticks, MP players and memory cards sold on eBay? The false capacity ranging from 2GB 4GB 8GB 16GB 32GB 60GB 64GB 120GB 240GB 260GB 360GB to 500GB sizes.

One size is advertised but the true size is much smaller! You buy a 16GB MP player but only get 2GB or 4GB of storage. You buy a 16GB usb flash drive and get 1GB or 2GB of storage, maybe 4GB if you are lucky. You buy a 16GB memory card and only get 2GB or 4GB. When it comes to usb flash drives and memory cards, the digital alteration of the controller flash chip is deadly – you lose your data! Do the ebay sellers know what they are doing? Is there a reason?

Recently SOSFakeFlash asked for stories, experiences. We received one, an explicit conversation between a fake flash seller and a buyer victim. It dates to the summer of 2008 and nothing since has changed. It is published exactly as received. It might be long but if you want answers start reading!

Quick Detection Genuine or Counterfeit Kingston DT150 32GB DataTraveler Michael’s Guide

eBay is not a safe place to buy usb flash drives. eBay sellers in the orient get a lot of bad press. People are suspicious. But you can just as easily buy a fake or counterfeit flash drive from eBay in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe or even in Australia.

The FrankenFlash Project has been busy publishing alerts and documenting Kingston DT150 DataTraveler counterfeits (see articles at the end ). First 32GB fakes appeared, then 64GB fakes and now 32GB fakes have spread to many eBay countries. The United States is a serious target.

What are the signs for a counterfeit 32GB DT150 DataTraveler fake? How can you tell? Michael shows you how.

Genuine or Counterfeit Kingston DT150 64GB DataTraveler – Quick Detection – A Guide

Kingston DT150 64GB DataTraveler usb flash drive pensticks are being counterfeited – how can you tell? Recently fake Kingston DT150 64GB DataTraveler flash drives began to appear on eBay, it is growing with alarming speed! eBay is not the only place you will find them, they are available at internet wholesaling sites in the orient.

What is the quickest inspection you can do to find out if you bought a counterfeit? Kingston engaves it’s usb connector for the DT150 64GB DataTraveler.

Here are other signs reported by victims when they compare counterfeits to the genuine Kingston DT150 64GB DataTraveler:

1. The main font is slightly (but definitely) different.
2. The actual USB plug is mounted upside down – such that the indicator light (which doesn’t work anyway) is facing downward when the drive is plugged in normally.
3. The lanyard hole is round as opposed the slightly square on the real Kingston.
4. Plastic moulding is poorly finished, with seams and visible.
5. The burgundy coloured outer finish is a very cheap & nasty stick on affair that doesn’t [quite] fit at the edge reliefs.

On a real one the USB connector is engraved and the back of the package has a second Bar Code sticker (see pictures below).

1. The counterfeits don’t have a blue light (although there is a spot for it).
2. The counterfeits are put together backwards, note on the real one pictured here you can see the copper path through the holes in the USB connector on the counterfeits its black from that side because they are backwards.
3. The counterfeit is very light in weight, less half the weight.
4. The best way to tell is the size of registered trademark symbol ® after the words DataTraveler on the front side that has 64GB on it, the counterfeit has a very small ®, about the size of one of the small dots on the surface, on a real one its over twice as big ®, see the pictures and compare.

This is the counterfeit and you can see how tiny the registered trademark symbol ® is compared to the genuine drive. Note that counterfeits unlike a genuine drive can come in several different variations.

The other thing that usually distinguishes genuine Kingston Flash drives from counterfeits is the packaging. Look at the back.

Some counterfeits to have serial number information but you can easliy verify see: Kingston USB Flash Drives – Detect Counterfeits And Fakes – Product Verification Kingston can help with their detection site to determine if the Kingston DT150 64GB DataTraveler you bought is genuine.

If you bought a counterfeit (fake) from a seller on eBay please report in to SOSFakeFlash Report A Fake Tab

Additional reading:

• Wholesale Prices For Fake Sony Kingston Counterfeit USB Flash Drives 16GB 32GB 64Gb 120GB 240GB 360GB 500GB
• 32GB Kingston DT150 32GB DataTraveler USB Flash Drive Counterfeits – Current Wholesale Costs For Fakes
• What Are The Real Costs For Flash Chips In China? Guide 2009

fufu$$ And The Counterfeit Kingston DT150 64GB DataTraveler USB Flash Drives

eBay seller fufu$$ was reported to SOSFakeFlash for selling Counterfeit Kingston DT150 64GB DataTraveler usb flash drives by an eBay buyer. SOSFakeFlash investigated and as a result published an alert to warn people see: fufu$$ Ebay Fake Flash Seller Alert – Australia – Counterfeit Kingston DT150 64GB DataTraveler

Shortly after the alert went out three things things happened:

1. fufu$$ eBay seller quickly changed his feedback to private to hide the negative left.
2. fufu$$ sent an email to SOSFakeflashDrive@gmail.com protesting
3. 4 comments in quick session were left on the alert post protesting no problems with the usb flash drives

Changing feedback to private is not what honest eBay sellers do. SOSFakeFlash has seen this behavior many times when a fake flash seller is trying to avoid detection.

The email received by SOSFakeFlash from the seller said:

From: farizh chama <farizh@removed as a kindness.com>
Date: May 18, 2009 8:04 PM
Subject: suspect seller
To: sosfakeflashdrive@gmail.com

Hi I am on your lost of suspected seller under user id fufu$$. You have stated that you have contacted me by email however I have not yet received the email, and am writing as I am a reputable seller to ebay and cannot comprehend how my name is on such a list. Yes I did have a issues with my usbs however I have refunded all unhappy members there money back.

I have stopped selling these usb’s. So please take my name off this list as I do want to contnue using my account and having my name on this has destroyed my reputation as a seller and buyer.

And as such it is unethical to place members on the suspect list when there is no evedience to establish whether or not what they are selling are fakes, and maybe until such can be proven then the members name can be added to the fake list.

look foward to hearing from you.
regards

Farizeh Shama

SOSFakeFlash never contacted or emailed fufu$$. We no longer perform outreach missions inside of eBay to sellers. Given the crises in fake flash on eBay SOSFakeFlash has it’s hands full investigating claims to ensure that the information is valid. Alerts are serious. eBay is being actively patrolled by many for fake flash usb devices, ebay members have had enough of this problem – five years is just too long. It has to end. Some are extremely experienced in detecting potential fakes.

The site in question said:

Here is another 64GB flash drive on the Australian ebay site. We don’t think this is likely to be genuine – we think fufu$$ bought these from wholesalers in China who are selling counterfeits manufactured by fraudsters

The FrankenFlash Project has found an alarming number of these drives for sale at very cheap prices on wholesale sites in the Orient. Sellers must ensure they do their homework prior to selling on eBay and testing any flash memory devices prior to listing for true capacity. It is not eBay’s job to test them and it is not the Project’s job – the responsibility lies with the seller.

FlashChipTutor and InspectorTech did a lot of research on these wholesaler sites and wrote:

• Wholesale Prices For Fake Sony Kingston Counterfeit USB Flash Drives 16GB 32GB 64Gb 120GB 240GB 360GB 500GB
• 32GB Kingston DT150 32GB DataTraveler USB Flash Drive Counterfeits – Current Wholesale Costs For Fakes

They found you could actually buy a 32GB Kingston DT150 32GB DataTraveler for as little as $14 US!

A lot of effort went into researching the cost of flash drive chips: Read What Are The Real Costs For Flash Chips In China? Guide 2009 You can’t sell a whole usb flash drive below the cost of the flash chip inside!

It was also predicted that the costs would be going up due to the fact that manufacturers have scaled back production to reduce existing inventory surplus. And no, they will not sell the chips at below cost. They can’t. As with most companies they have suffered serious financial losses recently. Sure enough one seller contacted his supplier and this is what he had to say:

https://sosfakeflash.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/apealy-ebay-fake-flash-seller-alert-china/#comment-1850

SOSFakeFlash did not mention fufu$$ was a suspect, SOSFakeFlash issued an alert.

To issue an alert can only mean one thing…. SOSFakeFlash has the evidence already.

The case is still in progress with additional information being uncovered. Sellers who rush to make feedback private set off additional warning bells.

At the moment fufu$$ is not on the eBay fake flash sellers list, but will be at the next update. fufu$$ states that it is unethical to place a seller on a list without evidence. We agree. Here are the test results for the Counterfeit Kingston DT150 64GB DataTraveler:

Warning: Only 64372 of 65483 MByte tested.
The media is likely to be defective.
3.9 GByte OK (8272250 sectors)
58.9 GByte DATA LOST (123561606 sectors)
Details:0 KByte overwritten (0 sectors)
360 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 720 sectors)
58.9 GByte corrupted (123560886 sectors)
0 KByte aliased memory (0 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x000000000005a028
Expected: 0xb9d7cf9f2d8a71f1
Found: 0xb9d7cf9f2d8a31f1
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 4.59 MByte/s
Reading speed: 3.06 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4

fufu$$ says all “Unhappy buyers” were refunded. Not so. What do you think caused fufu$$ to be reported and investigated? In hiding feedback fufu$$ has purposely made invesigating more difficult. Those who bought usb flash drives from the seller have difficulty finding each other to compare what they received. Fake? Good? That unfortunately is what hiding feedback is all about.

Do we know how many were sold? We have a pretty good idea. We can say about £1600 in eBay listing sales were generated for this item. Return all that money to buyers? That would indeed be interesting and unusual. In hiding feedback it certainly does not look like fufu$$ wants to be honourable and do the right thing. Are more eBayer’s about to visit the Paypal dispute console? Very likely. Who is likely to know? The seller, eBay and of course PayPal.

The tests above show a 4GB flash drive, not a 64GB flash drive. Anyone who used this drive will begin to lose data after 4GB. This is what the FrankenFlash Project calls “Data Poison“!

When people get fake flash usb drives they start to do research. So what are the observations on this drive by the buyer when compared against a genuine Kingston DT150 64GB DataTraveler?

1. The main font is slightly (but definitely) different.
2. The actual USB plug is mounted upside down – such that the indicator light (which doesn’t work anyway) is facing downward when the drive is plugged in normally.
3. The lanyard hole is round as opposed the slightly square on the real Kingston.
4. Plastic moulding is poorly finished, with seams and visible.
5. The burgundy coloured outer finish is a very cheap & nasty stick on affair that doesn’t [quite] fit at the edge reliefs.

There is a lot of research going on right now on Kingston DataTraveler counterfeits for the DT150. Here is what another source has to say on Counterfeit Kingston DT150 64GB DataTraveler usb flash drives

On a real one the USB connector is engraved and the back of the package has a second Bar Code sticker (see pictures below).

1. The counterfeits don’t have a blue light (although there is a spot for it).
2. The counterfeits are put together backwards, note on the real one pictured here you can see the copper path through the holes in the USB connector on the counterfeits its black from that side because they are backwards.
3. The counterfeit is very light in weight, less half the weight.
4. The best way to tell is the size of registered trademark symbol ® after the words DataTraveler on the front side that has 64GB on it, the counterfeit has a very small ®, about the size of one of the small dots on the surface, on a real one its over twice as big ®, see the pictures and compare.

Do you find similarities between the victims report and the observations found on these Counterfeit Kingston DT150 64GB DataTraveler’s?

To learn more about these fakes please inspect these photos as reference material:

This is a genuine usb flash drive. Notice the engraving on the usb flash drive connector.

This is the counterfeit and you can see how tiny the registered trademark symbol ® is compared to the genuine drive. Note that counterfeits unlike a genuine drive can come in several different variations.

The other thing that usually distinquishs genuine Kingston Flash drives from counterfeits in the packaging, in particular the back.

Note: quite a few Kingston fakes have serial numbers on their packaging too but you can easliy verify this information, see: Kingston USB Flash Drives – Detect Counterfeits And Fakes – Product Verification If you have one with a serial number, go and verify it. Kingston has put a lot of effort into helping people check the drives they bought to determine if they are genuine or not.

Did the victim of fufu$$ try to resolve the issue in a postitive way? Yes indeed. fufu$$ clung to the idea the usb flash drives were faulty. As you can see from the test results there was nothing faulty here, but a counterfeit and false capacity. The physical description comparisions also make this clear.

It is very important to understand especially with counterfeit brand name drives, they are evidence badly needed by brand name manufacturers to help them combat fraud and counterfeiting. You would have thought that fufu$$ realizing issues with the usb flash drives would have contacted Kingston immediately. Instead the victim buyers are.

There is more to this story of fufu$$ and the counterfeit Kingston DT150 64GB DataTraveler. The investigation is still in progress.

In the meantime:

SOSFakeFlash advises that you do not buy any Kingston DT150 64GB DataTraveler on eBay. Only buy this flash drive from reputable local retail stores or from a Kingston web site until further notice.

New Update 20100226:  Kingston USB Flash Drives. How To Check You Have A Genuine One And Not A Counterfeit – Easy Guide. Kingston Technologies Fighting To Protect Consumers And Itself From Counterfeits.

If you bought from this seller please test your usb flash drive immediately and report in with the information needed. See the Report A Fake Tab

hitech2day Inside A Fake MP Player Sold By Ebay Fake Seller – Proof Of Fake MP Players Sold On Ebay Exposed

SOSFakeFlash publishs a lot of consumer alerts on fake flash sellers prowling ebay for buyer victims. Evidence is collected and stored in a database. eBayer id’s, eBay item numbers, the model sold by the seller along with other important information.

It leads to alerts being issued on the internet and sellers being added to the famous eBay Fake Flash Sellers List. As time goes by the counts against sellers increase. Some times a victim will report in months after the fact, long after the ebay listings have disappeared. The project works hard to preserve information. Alerts are issued after the information has been collected, not before! Necessary given eBay’s recent behavior of shutting fake flash sellers down quickly to be able to remove all traces of lising information.

SOSFakeFlash, in this article will take you inside of a fake MP Player purchased on eBay and show you how it is possible to prove it is a false capacity, confirming what the program H2testw 1.4 reports in capacity testing.

Paypal likes to demand that victims return fake flash usb drives or mp players or memory cards to get a refund. “Return the crime to the criminal!” they order. On other occasions they will dismiss the test results of H2testw 1.4 and demand you find somebody at Southby’s to certify that you received a counterfeit.

The FrankenFlash Project has been in operation for over 14 months, they know something about fake mp players, usb flash drives and memory cards. The simple fact is, when the devices are taken apart – the truth is revealed. It only confirms what the program H2testw 1.4 reports. The secret? It lies in the actual flash drive nand memory chips in the device!

For most victims, taking apart a fake MP Player is not a task they feel up to. The latest contributor, Niko is up to the task and is presenting his findings for everyone to see! He has two fake MP Players to reveal to you, this is the first one sold by hitech2day. You will quickly see there is nothing “defective” here! It is clear deception on the part of fake flash sellers.

To PayPal and eBay, do pay attention! To fake flash sellers, watch out! We do our homework “dears “.

Listed on eBay hitech2day offered this model. Is it 16GB?

When Niko opened the drive this is what he saw:

So what did the flash drive chip for storage show?

It was a samsung 904 k9lbgo8uom pcbo CAK468P2

If you visit InspectorTech’s site you will see the following post: Samsung Nand Flash – How To Decode Flash Storage Chips To Find True Capacity

and if you scroll down you can visit the samsung link. Give this a try. http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/partnumberDecoder.do

now enter the information characters for:

k9lbgo8uom

This is good practise for anyone with a samsung nand flash drive chip to try out!

There is no “m” available for the last character.

So click on search.

So here we see the real chip size. It is 32G bit. 8 bits is a byte so we need to divide by 8. That makes 32Gb /8 = 4GB.

So eBay seller hitech2day has lied about the true capacity! hitech2day was not selling a 16GB MP Player but a 4GB MP Player. eBay, PayPal are you still with us? Can you do the math and follow the evidence? Do you really think ebay buyers are complaining without cause? If ebay members can do their homework, why can’t you? It’s not rocket science, you know.

Now the controller chip for the MP Player difficult to read in the photo:

It is:

AK2025
8L014BA 1LP

We can’t tell you much about it at the moment.

eBay members are not imagining things about the fake mp players being sold on eBay.

The problem is very real! Both eBay and PayPal are very much aware of it. Only they prefer to show a blind eye. After all, the money is good! The FrankenFlash project has observed that eBay and PayPal do not intend to put a stop to the traffic in fake mp players being sold.

You don’t believe us? Please have a look at this:

Stop this Multi-Million Dollar Fraud on eBay

Just how far back in time does it go? If you are a victim of a fake flash MP Player, make sure that you register there. You can also register for other fake flash items too! Let it grow! And grow! The FrankenFlash Project collects information too, so do not forget SOSFakeFlash or to report in! Every item matters and counts.

SOSFakeFlash issue’s alerts on the internet to warn and assist victims. They can not and will not issue an alert without evidence. It is very powerful! It is a record and it stays forever. They also will NOT remove an alert! If a seller on eBay is caught, the alert stays!

Niko is currently searching for a solution to repair this fake MP Player. If one is found he will present it to everyone.

Keep an eye out for Niko’s other fake flash MP seller and his repair solution coming soon.

SOSFakeFlash published an alert on seller hitech2day, please read: hitech2day Ebay Fake Flash Seller Alert – China Fake MP Players