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   CONSPRCY      How big is your tinfoil hat?      2,445 messages   

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   Message 1,670 of 2,445   
   Mike Powell to All   
   Major raid targets counte   
   22 Aug 25 10:16:46   
   
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   Major raid targets counterfeit fake HDDs from Seagate, WD, and Toshiba in   
   Malaysia, but is it too little too late?   
      
   Date:   
   Thu, 21 Aug 2025 20:31:00 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   A raid in Malaysia uncovered nearly 700 counterfeit hard drives, exposing a   
   global scheme recycling used devices as new.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   A large-scale raid in Malaysia has revealed the extent of manipulation in the   
   hard drive market.    
      
   Seagate, working alongside the Ministry of Domestic Trade, traced suspicious   
   online offers to a warehouse near Kuala Lumpur.    
      
   The raid uncovered a counterfeiting workshop that not only handled its own   
   hard drives but also those from Western Digital and Toshiba.   
      
   Discovery of altered storage devices   
      
   This is not the first time old Seagate HDDs have been modified and sold as   
   new. The Chia cryptocurrency case and other reports show Seagate drives are   
   susceptible to counterfeiting.    
      
   In this latest case, nearly 700 Seagate units, some with capacities reaching   
   18TB, were seized.    
      
   Evidence suggests that devices were taken from the secondary market, scrubbed   
   clean, fitted with new labels, and then sold as though they were fresh from   
   the factory.    
      
   A striking case involved a desktop HDD being converted into a so-called "new"   
   surveillance HDD, highlighting the deceptive practices being used.    
      
   The operation came to light when a sales manager noticed unusually low prices   
   on e-commerce sites such as Lazada and Shopee.    
      
   Further investigation showed that the fraudsters reset SMART values to mask   
   the age and use of the drives.    
      
   Reports indicate that the sales volume was large, with thousands of US    
   dollars being generated each month.    
      
   Many of these products were listed as high-capacity options, making them   
   attractive to customers seeking affordable storage, whether in desktop   
   systems, portable HDD setups, or NAS HDD configurations.    
      
   Seagate believes the used equipment may have originated in China, although   
   tracing the precise supply chain remains difficult.    
      
   The challenge now lies in finding out how large the network is and who is   
   ultimately responsible for channeling used parts into counterfeit goods.    
      
   The raid demonstrates that organized groups are capable of reshaping the   
   appearance of drives so effectively that unsuspecting buyers may only realize   
   the problem once failures occur.    
      
   In response, Seagate has strengthened its partner program, demanding that   
   distributors commit to sourcing exclusively from authorized suppliers.    
      
   Global Trade Screening is being emphasized as a mechanism to block purchases   
   from companies that appear on sanctions lists.    
      
   These steps are designed to reduce the chances of counterfeit drives entering   
   legitimate markets, although it remains to be seen whether this will make a   
   lasting difference.    
      
   The discovery is not isolated. Other brands have been affected, as shown by   
   counterfeit UnionSine external devices circulating on Amazons marketplace   
   without effective intervention.    
      
   Despite alerts, sales continued, and this shows how porous the global   
   distribution chain has become.    
      
   For buyers, the risks associated with unusually cheap listings remain, and   
   unless enforcement intensifies, counterfeit devices may continue to slip   
   through unchecked channels.    
      
   Via computerbase (originally in German)   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/pro/major-raid-targets-counterfeit-fake-hdds-from-se   
   agate-wd-and-toshiba-in-malaysia-but-is-it-too-little-too-late   
      
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