Subj : Major raid targets counte
To : All
From : Mike Powell
Date : Fri Aug 22 2025 10:16 am
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)
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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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