Report A Fake

The Fake flash memory wars are raging. Especially on eBay! It is up to you to make a difference! The frauded buyer can have the last word!

Please report your fake flash memory seller to us. SOSFakeFlash has been fighting the issue since 2008.  Fraudulent sellers are stopped when buyers report.  SOSFakeFlash will investigate and publish a report on the seller.  This helps other victims who have been frauded, it helps them to stand up to the seller and to get their refunds.  When buyers do not report sellers, the sellers continue to sell and fraud even more people.

Seebelow for the information we need. We do not have all sellers of counterfeit and false capacity usb flash drives, mpx players and memory cards on file. Your contribution helps everyone. Your information is registered in our database. We publish and warn others.

Addresses of sellers from your mailing envelopes are very helpful. It helps us to spot conterfeit  fraud rings operating on eBay. Use the search box and type in your sellers id, if there is an article make sure to leave a comment and also your progress in dealing with him.  When we publish your report,  please use the ultimate weapon! Social media.  If you have a facebook account use it to reference an article to warn your friends.  It is the most important way you can contribute and save others from your horrible experience.

As of June 2009, SOSFakeFlash announced a zero tolerance policy.

One confirmation can lead to an alert against an eBay seller. There was no choice considering the number of sellers involved with fake flash memory selling.  Investigators for SOSFakeFlash and the FrankenFlash project are highly trained to spot sellers. There is more than sufficient information on the internet for would be eBay sellers to exercise due diligence.  eBay makes it a policy to insert into each eBay listing that a seller is solely responsible for what they list.

SOSFakeFlash will make no exceptions, regardless of eBay country of registration. Any alert published at SOSFakeFlash will not be removed, whether or not an eBay seller chooses to refund some buyers.  Posturing and threats by eBay sellers are useless, in fact it usually leads to the eBay seller being investigated by eBay and being suspended.  We deal in facts, period.  You help in providing the facts.

Any attempt to claim “defective” will not be be received kindly, genuine flash memory storage chips are manufactured to the highest standards to ensure they can retain capacity, it is one of the reasons true flash memory is expensive.  SOSFakeFlash shows no favoritism.  An eBay seller in the Western world will receive the same treatment as one registered in an Asian country. If a brand name item is in question, an eBay seller must furnish proof from the brand name, attesting to the fact the items they sold were not counterfeit or false capacity.  We expect the brand name to exonerate the seller by testifying the items were indeed “defective”.  We do not expect to receive many emails from the brand name companies as most eBay seller caught did not buy directly from the brand name, nor an authorized reseller, most bought their inventory from Asian wholesaler sites and therefore are at risk of being frauded.  You the eBay buyer, are not responsible for their poor lack of judgment. Your duty is to report the seller, to reduce the fraud for your fellow eBay members.  It is the only way to reduce the fraud and scam eBay continues to permit.  Should you feel sorry for the seller, you do a disservice to other eBay victims, you will contribute the the problem.

To anyone who feels a zero tolerance policy is harsh, we invite you to begin your research and to assess how much money is involved, how much profit and just how many people have lost data and files during the past 9 years on eBay.

We are nearing the end of 2011 and while sellers are being suspended, eBay continues to evade responsibility,  despite the fact the issue is over 9 years old.  Progress is being made, but only when buyers report.  This is where you can matter.  You would be very surprised how a single eBay member was able to stop a seller or even reduce the number of victims.    It is all about making a small indivual effort. That little effort can have very sharp teeth.

• It is important you test your item to find it’s true capacity. Read: H2testw 1.4 – Gold Standard In Detecting USB Counterfeit Drives
• Do not assume if you have made a paypal claim and it has been closed that you can not reopen it. Many victims have been forced to do this.  If you funded with a credit card, take a short cut.  After reporting to SOSFakeFlash, contact your credit card company and ask them to do a reversal for fraud.  Credit cards are more concerned about your welfare then eBay ever will be.  You are more likely to get your refund.  It is not something eBay will like and you can be assured that eBay will reclaim their loss by removing the sale from the seller via PayPal. After 3 years of operation and experience we can tell you, the secret to getting your money back is to disregard any eBay claim windows or time limits.  People who are persistent succeed.
• Do not leave positive feedback in exhange for a refund. You only make the problem worse. Under no circumstances should you fall for blackmail – revise your feedback to optain a refund.   Sellers will try to do this to you.  It is up to you to decide if you are a mouse or if you are someone who will not tolerate fraud.  The revision of feedack is probably why you bought from the seller in the first place! Read: eBay Victims do not leave positive Feedback or change FB to positive to get refunds! Any seller who tries to make you do this is in violation of eBay rules. You can report them!  Send all emails to eBay as your proof – demand your refund and do not accept excuses or email robots.

Any company who had been involved directly or indirectly with a transaction involving fake flash memory items is liable andresponsible. There are no “buts” or “maybe”s. Do not belive any seller ploy of “defective or faulty”, this is the oldest scam in selling fake flash memory!  If you fall for it, you allow more victims for your seller.

It is important you become a registered victim of the eBay flash memory fraud:

• Reminder eBay see: EBay Ordered to Pay $61 Million in Sale of Counterfeit Goods
• Reminder PayPal: Steele Settlement Website

If you have confirmed that you have a fake (purchased from eBay) and you wanted it entered into the database as evidence so we can post an alert or update counts against a seller we will need the following information from you:

1. eBay item number
2. eBay Seller id
3. Your eBay Buyer id (d0n’t forget this please)
4. Your output from H2testw 1.4 or F3 by Michel Machado For Linux
   
5. eBay item description title
6. Seller address complete if you have it (mailing envelopes, eBay, PayPal). Important to build profile and track multiple id’s
7. Seller email address
8. A short word of you experience and or thoughts if you like (optional)

Reminder, your eBay Buyer id is NOT  published on the internet when you report in to us. eBay fake flash memory seller ids are published on the internet to warn other buyers.  Keeping your identity confidential is important. It allows us to fight fraudulent sellers aggressively.

If your seller used private auction listings to hide the listing, or a multiple item buy now listing please send a screen capture of the listing to help us cut down on the investigation time.

To capture your buy now listing is very important if the seller is not on file with us (eBay Fake Memory Seller Lists) , if the seller is suspended you will lose your evidence and so could we.

Send this information directly to sosfakeflashdrive@gmail.com

We will not enter information into the database from a public site without 1-4.

After reporting in to us, please visit the updated Fight Back Page! See how you can make a difference. A lot of people find it very rewarding – even “therapeutic”. Yes, sometimes one needs a little therapy from the fake flash memory experience. A lot of people feel helpless against eBay and powersellers, nothing is further from the truth. This site is the result of people who helped out, they knew you would be coming here someday….

If you are reporting several sellers (it happens) please keep the 1-8 pattern. Easy to understand, the more you save us time the faster we can investigate and enter.

If you do not provide us with the minimun 1-4 we will not investigate nor respond to you.  If you are a genuine buyer it is easy for you to provide the information.

There is no time limit in reporting a seller, you can find a lot of information inside of your paypal account for proof. We have had cases as old as 18 months from purchase being reported. It is why recording in a database is so important.

SOSFakeFlash is very strict about collecting information, data can be support, has witnesses to the fake flash memory deed. The alerts and posts we publish – are based on evidence. Not one post has ever been removed since 2008, despite threats or posturing, can you guess why?

The data we collect is  used to build the list of fake flash memory sellers on eBay. It is also used to issue summary reports on the problem. Data from victims helped us to produce this report: Global Report – eBay Fake Memory 2008 – 2009 , a two year effort. If anyone wants to dispute with us, we can send them an angry mob of fake flash victims. So if you would like to have your item(s) recorded for the record please send us the information above to: sosfakeflashdrive@gmail.com

It is important to report even if the seller is already on the list or an alert is issued.

It increases the counts and evidence against the seller and for the degree of fraud on eBay too. . We publish the sellers and the current counts in our eBay fake flash sellers list. We also produce statistics and reports from the information you send.

In your feedback please put the calling card of “SOSFakeFlash” + “H2testw“. It helps people to find us and get help. It unnerves fraudulent sellers as it means their days are now numbered. If you left positive feedback, do a follow up to your original feedback – to let everyone know what you discovered. You would be suprised just how much this can help.  If you have a little time, contact at least 5 other buyers from your fake flash seller to warn them to test. It’s a chain reaction, it helps others, reduces victims and soon brings these fraudulent sellers to the attention of both PayPal and eBay.

Report A Fake 2008-2010 (April)