Reviewer Buys a 16TB Portable SSD for $70, Which Proves to Be a Scam

Amazon will not deny that fraudulent reviews on its platform are a problem. And despite years of reports of fake storage products, listed with fake reviews to cover up bogus specs and performance claims, the scams keep popping up.

on Monday, Geek review Details her purchase of what an Amazon listing claimed was a portable 16TB M.2 SSD for $70. The drive, like similar Amazon listings, has garnered dozens of five-star reviews. However, it turns out that the cheap SSD is just a 64GB microSD card in a circuit board with a USB-C connector.

All this despite the drive showing up as 16TB of storage on Windows, which a Geek review suspects is due to rogue circuit board firmware.

The listing and box wasn’t even honest about its connectivity, claiming USB 3.0 Micro B to USB 3.1 Type-C. The device is really based on USB 2.0, select Review Geek after testing the product with it Chip Genius, which is an application for checking USB devices. Transfer 1 GB of data with a file SSD The microSD card reportedly took 20 minutes instead of the expected 1 minute.

Finally, the box’s claims of compatibility with Smart TVs, Android, Windows 7, and Windows 10 remain questionable, and “|OS” support seems impossible because that’s not a thing.

The good news is that Review Geek didn’t find any malware on the device.

The bad news is that this is just one example of the countless reports that have been reported over the past few years and are still circulating all over Amazon.

Cheap 16TB Solid State Drives abound

After reading the Review Geek story, I searched Amazon for “16TB solid-state drive,” and was immediately met with options between $70 and $110 with little-known brand names, like Generic, SAJIULAS, and WIOTA, which was the brand of the drive he bought. Review Geek. All of them have at least 3.5 stars, and some have hundreds of reviews.

However, reading some of these reviews made me wonder if we’ve been using SSDs wrong all this time. A review on one of the notably cheap portable SSD listings showed the product to be “a very colorful throw, but thinner” than expected. Another stated that the drive proved “very smooth and perfect” for their 6-year-old. One review noted that the “picture nice” SSD looks great in the kitchen, while another five-star review noted its high microphone and video quality.

I even saw a review hinting at one true nature of the portable SSD, noting that it’s an “affordable 64GB” option, despite the review appearing to be within a 16TB SSD.

As Review Geek noted, scammers have been modifying existing listings (including new images, titles, and descriptions) for a product so that they are selling an entirely different item. In this way, sellers can maintain high ratings, and make the new product appear highly rated. This also shows how portable storage can get five stars for being great to look at while you’re making dinner.

Whether you call it Merger reviewReuse reviewor Abduction reviewIt’s a practice scammers have used to mislead PC component shoppers for years, and one Amazon has yet to crack.

History repeats itself

Unfortunately, the narratives of basic microSD cards posing as high-speed, high-capacity portable hard drives have been gaining traction lately. ZDNet I reported a $20 example purchase in May, and Tech Radar He discussed the matter in September, noting that some Amazon listings had been removed after her article. In August, we reported a scammer who sold a 30tb portable ssd at walmart For $39.

In terms of computer storage in general, there are countless reports From people receiving products that are different from what is advertised on Amazon. And it’s not just about SSD storage either. People have reported duplication appointments cheap price hard drives and USB flash memory.

This Geek story review is a reminder of how careful shoppers can be when buying suspiciously cheap tech from websites. Despite reports and subsequent removals of fraudulent storage devices, they kept popping up.

According to Review Geek, the product he purchased disappeared and was promptly replaced by another listing before Review Geek reported the scam to Amazon. It’s unclear if Amazon removed the original post or if the seller did so independently before being penalized.

As Review Geek said, it’s like a whack-a-mole for Amazon. Amazon’s review process has resulted in close scrutiny from customers, the media, and UK competition regulatorCompetition and Markets Authority. Amazon has turned to the courts to combat companies And Facebook groups Claims to sell fake reviews. Amazon sued fake reviews Since 2015. But they are still rampant on the site.