New Scam Alert: Fraudsters Selling Graphics Cards With Non-Working GPUs

A new wave of fraud involving flagship NVIDIA graphics cards has been reported on Asian trading platforms. Whereas buyers previously risked receiving an older model with a reflashed BIOS, criminals are now selling devices that are completely incapable of outputting a display signal. One such case was dissected in detail by a Chinese tech blogger on Bilibili. He got his hands on a graphics card advertised as an ASUS GeForce RTX 4090.

An initial inspection didn't reveal anything suspicious: the cooling shroud matched the original, the power connectors and labels were in place, and the weight of the device raised no red flags. The truth only came out after removing the cooler — underneath the heatsink, instead of a graphics processor, there was a plastic imitation with laser engraving. The markings on the chip contained a glaring error — the manufacturing date pointed to the year 2030, which leaves absolutely no doubt about it being a counterfeit. Upon closer comparison with a reference die image, experts also spotted other discrepancies: the factory QR code on the substrate was missing, and some of the capacitors around the processor were soldered in the wrong places.

The memory chips turned out to be problematic as well. They looked intact at first glance, but they were actually factory rejects and physically incapable of functioning. In effect, the entire PCB, aside from the cooling system, didn't have a single working component responsible for graphics processing. A similar situation was previously reported with DDR5 memory modules.

Special attention should be paid to the price at which the dummy was being sold — it was listed at $220. For comparison, the real cost of a GeForce RTX 4090, even a year after its release, remains firmly above $1,500. Such a low price tag should have been a major warning sign for the buyer in itself. Experts attribute the rise in hardware counterfeits to the surging demand for high-performance accelerators, and the chip shortage, fueled by the AI boom, is creating fertile ground for scammers.

It's worth noting that this isn't the first case of physical counterfeiting, but previously such a brazen approach was rarely seen. Now, however, fraudsters have essentially put the production of these imitations on an assembly line, using substandard components and crudely crafted plastic chips. The only relatively reliable safeguard for buyers remains purchasing from authorized retailers and steering clear of deals with suspiciously low prices.

Have you or anyone you know ever encountered counterfeit graphics cards when buying from online platforms, and what verification methods do you consider the most effective? Share your thoughts in the comments.