Consumers Defrauded by eBay Computer Memory Card Scam
Despite warnings, over 160,000 fakes sold to eBay consumers.
February 27, 2017, Los Angeles, CA – It's a simple scam, take a low capacity memory card costing a few cents and reprint it with a higher capacity label and a globally recognized trademark. Sell the items as authentic on eBay for up to $100.00 or more.
It's no bigger than your fingernail, but this tiny replaceable memory card holds your data, photos and contacts in your phone, camera, iPad, tablet, laptop and GPS. However, it's a fake and you are likely to lose your data, images, and you may damage your equipment. If you are planning a purchase to save irreplaceable photos or documents, buy wisely. Could you identify this 64GB microSDHC® card as a fake? If you can't, you may lose a massive amount of data.
Alarmingly, while eBay claims they "do not allow counterfeits" -- the fact is they do. Even more alarming, eBay does not notify buyers they purchased a counterfeit item even when eBay is informed by the manufacturer. Buyers, of course, would be entitled to a refund under eBay's "Money Back Guarantee". The Counterfeit Report promptly reported 1,633,097 infringing items to eBay in just the past year. eBay listings claim that 149,139 counterfeits have already been sold to eBay consumers.
Shown below are just some of the counterfeit micro SD® memory cards listed or purchased on eBay. All microSDHC® cards above 32GB are fake -- there is no such authentic product in any brand.
(photos: The Counterfeit Report®)
The micro SD® trademark is owned by SD-3C, LLC, who licenses its use to authentic conforming products. None of the items shown are authentic licensed products.
The removable micro SD memory storage card is an amazing, convenient and trouble-free storage device. When it works, it is unnoticed. When you get a fake, it will be the very core of your frustration, despair and pain – and your data may be gone.
Consumers cannot determine the actual memory capacity of a counterfeit memory card by simply viewing the capacity displayed on their computer, phone or camera. The counterfeiters are too smart for that, and simply overwrite the real memory capacity with a false capacity to match any capacity they print on the counterfeit packaging and card. A free downloadable test program (H2TESTW.exe) will easily tell you the real capacity of your card. The fake cards may also tout certification from the FCC, CE, VCCI, and NATA leading you to believe that the card meets certification standards, but it does not. And, there is no manufacturer to honor any warranty.
The Counterfeit Report®, a watchdog and consumer advocate website, purchased over 175 fake microSD cards from eBay sellers. All the microSDHC® memory cards purchased and tested by The Counterfeit Report tested at a fraction of their stated capacity. It was not uncommon for some counterfeit cards to fail during the test as unusable. When the counterfeit memory cards reach their actual capacity, they overwrite and erase any existing stored data.
If you are going to trust your data and photos to a micro SD® card, be sure to buy authentic memory cards from authorized retailers or directly from the manufacturer. See TheCounterfeitReport.com for more examples of counterfeit and fake memory cards.
Consumer Recourse
If you received any fake product, always retain the item as proof of your counterfeit claim and notify eBay immediately at (866) 540-3229. Open a refund claim under eBay's "Money Back Guarantee."
Trafficking in counterfeits is a crime with criminal and civil penalties. The Counterfeit Report offers this advice to consumers;
Counterfeit products are a serious problem for e-commerce websites and consumers. With many retailers matching website prices, consumers are better served and protected purchasing from authorized retailers.
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