Amazon does not deny that fake reviews on its platform are a problem. Despite years of reports of fake storage products listed with fake specifications and falsified reviews to cover up performance claims, the scams keep coming.
On Monday, Review Geek detailed what an Amazon listing claims to be a 16TB portable M.2 SSD for $70. The Drive had dozens of five-star reviews, as did similar Amazon listings. Yet the inexpensive SSD turned out to be just a 64GB microSD on a circuit board with a USB-C connector.
All this despite the drive showing as 16TB of storage in Windows, which Review Geek suspects is caused by deceptive circuit board firmware.
The listing and the box weren’t even honest about its connectivity, claiming everything from USB 3.0 Micro B to USB 3.1 Type-C. The device really relies on USB 2.0, Review Geek determined after testing the product. ChipGeniusAn application for examining USB devices. 1GB data migration SSD The microSD card reportedly took 20 minutes instead of the expected single 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 it’s nothing.
The good news is, Review Geek did not find any malware on the device.
The bad news is that this is just one of countless examples reported over the past few years that have remained scattered across Amazon.
Cheap “16TB SSDs” abound
After reading Review Geek’s story, I searched for “16TB SSD” on Amazon and immediately came across $70-110 options with unknown brand names like Generic, SAJIULAS, and WIOTA, the brand of the disk Review Geek bought. All had at least 3.5 stars and some had hundreds of reviews.
However, reading some of these reviews has me questioning whether we’ve been misusing SSDs all this time. A review of one of the fairly inexpensive lists of portable SSDs declared the product to be “multicolored, but thinner” than expected. Another reported that the driver performed “very smooth and excellent” for their 6-year-old. One review pointed to the SSD being a “beautiful portrait” that looks great in the kitchen, while another five-star review pointed to high microphone and video quality.
I’ve even seen a review pointing to one of the true nature of portable SSD, stating that it’s an “affordable 64GB” option, despite the review appearing under 16TB SSD.
As noted by Review Geek, scammers are editing existing listings (including new images, titles, and descriptions) for a product until they sell a completely different product. This way, sellers can maintain high reviews and make the new product appear highly rated. This also explains how portable storage can get five stars because it’s great to look at while you’re having dinner.
whether you call merge reviewreview reuseor review captureIt’s a practice that scammers have used to deceive PC component purchasers for years, and it’s one that Amazon has just eradicated.
history repeats itself
Unfortunately, tales of essential microSD cards appearing as high-speed, high-capacity portable SSDs have been gaining momentum lately. ZDNet He reported purchasing a $20 sample in May and TechRadar He discussed the issue in September, noting that some Amazon listings were taken down after his article. In August, a scammer 30TB portable SSD at Walmart for $39.
Regarding PC storage in general, there are numerous reports Proportion of people buying products different from those advertised on Amazon. And it’s not just limited to SSD storage. People reported duplicates ads cheap hard disk drives and USB flash drives.
Review Geek’s story reminds shoppers how careful they should be when purchasing suspiciously cheap tech from websites. Despite reports and subsequent removal of rogue storage devices, they continue to pop up.
According to Review Geek, the item she purchased disappeared and was immediately replaced with another listing before Review Geek reported the scam to Amazon. It’s unclear whether Amazon removed the original shipment or if the seller did it independently before being penalized.
As Review Geek says, it’s like a hit-the-mole game for Amazon. Amazon’s review process allows customers, media and UK’s competition regulator, Competition and Markets Authority. Amazon sued the courts war companies and Facebook groups claims to sell fake reviews. Amazon is suing for fake reviews since 2015. but they still work widely on the site.
