Counterfeiting and CPU fraud have not only been around since yesterday, especially in the retail market. But according to HKEPC’s latest report, it now looks like the big tech companies themselves are falling victim to these scams. The report mentions that Chinese-based shopkeepers and resellers have tried to send massive amounts of counterfeit Intel CPUs directly back to Intel’s RMA, with Intel always advising customers to be aware of these potential activities and to try to better buy cpUs through official channels.
Counterfeit Intel and AMD CPUs have been circulating in retail and used processor market platforms for years. The main scam is that resellers try to sell buyers a CPU that is not even similar to the one they ordered. This can be achieved in a number of ways, with fake IHS still the most common. The built-in heat spreader (IHS), which sits on the CPU chip, contains important labels about the CPU itself, such as the process name, number, specification code, clock frequency, and batch number. By the way, the IHS also bears the official logo.
A very popular platform, which is also frequented by non-Chinese, is AliExpress, a Chinese platform that can be located in the direction of eBay, but with almost exclusively commercial providers. They are available in many languages, including German or e.g. Russian:
But even Amazon is now haunted by such scammers on the Marketplace, and it is often hard to follow in the footsteps of such providers to the end. Even if the Chinese judiciary seems merciless in many respects, one quickly notices a complete lack of interest in such matters, unfortunately.
The IHS can be removed and modified in several ways. Either the scammers keep the original IHS and put it on an older generation CPU or significantly lower performance class, or they try to modify the IHS themselves. This is usually a more complicated process, but nowadays you can even buy cleverly made IHS stickers on the market that can be easily glued to the IHS of older CPUs. If you don’t look closely or have the necessary knowledge, you could easily be deceived by such CPUs.
There were also CPUs with modified PCBs, and this was also a new scam that was underway in the Chinese market: fraudsters sold CPUs of the 8th. and 9. Generation with PCBs with the current pin layout, but they didn’t have a CPU die on the PCB. The 2D matrix, which contains the processor’s serial code and the three- to five-digit serial numbers on the board, had also been modified to match the new CPU. The next two images show what such an empty CPU looks like:
While so far only end customers have been the main victims of such tactics, HKEPC reports that even Intel China has sat down with these fake CPUs and has now issued a statement on them. According to Intel, several storeowners and third-party vendors have submitted rigged CPUs for RMA processes. These CPUs were imfalsely printed, which were almost indistinguishable from the original with the naked eye.
Intel has also stated that it is not only the RMA or RMA guarantee process for such CPUs, but will also take legal action against the sellers of these CPUs. According to Intel, the number of counterfeit CPUs is now very high and the criminal sellers can sell these CPUs on online marketplaces at very high prices, as demand for Intel CPUs of the 8th floor is high. and 9. generation seems unbroken. Even large retailers (such as Amazon, with its third-party marketplace), has been known in the past to offer fake CPUs.
Since these products have now also reached Europe, one can only advise to always buy such products directly from Amazon and to avoid third-party providers of unclear origin. Amazon is cultish, but before later evidence proceedings one can only advise to document everything in detail, if the case really happens. Buyers of Intel CPUs are also generally advised to avoid online retailers based in China for the time being, as the potential to be scammed with a fake Intel CPU is very high.
Source: HKEPC
Kommentieren