Portrait Of An American eBay Fake Flash Memory Seller – ClickToBlue. Buying Cheap Fake Flash Memory – Viruses As The Bonus. Damage To Laptops and PCs.

Is flash memory fraud only coming from eBay sellers in Asia? No. Many eBay members believe you can avoid being scammed by buying from local eBay sellers based in their home country. Unfortunately this is not true. You can just as easily buy a false capacity usb flash drive, mp player or memory card from a local eBay seller.

ClickToBlue was an eBay seller registered in the United States. He sold 16GB fake usb flash drives. FakeFlashNews tried to warn eBay members in April 2009.

Did You Buy A 16GB USB Flash Drive From eBay Seller clicktoblue? Fabulous Prices And Below Cost – Cheap. Debate between SOSFakeFlash and TechReporters At FakeFlashNews

He sold these 16 GB usb flash drives for only $19.95 US! Of course they were fakes but he exploited the fact he was a USA seller. People afraid of buying a fake, thought he was safe. A lot of sellers will try to promote themselves by including their country in image listings. It gives a false sense of security.

Later in September 2009, five months later, SOSFakeFlash was able to issue an official alert: clicktoblue Ebay Fake Flash Seller – United States

Did that stop clicktoblue from frauding people in the United States? No.

Instead he escalated in advertised size to 32GB.

So in October 2009, SOSFakeflash issued: American Fake Flash Memory Seller Returns For Another Round Of Fraud On eBay. Accomplished In Claiming Defective, Rude To Buyers – clicktoblue.

Awareness started to increase on the internet about this American fake flash memory seller clicktoblue. At last negative feedback started to pour in. Finally he was suspended by eBay.

It took 10 months until eBay members woke up and applied enough pressure to have him removed.

Will he be back?

You can bet he will try once his suspension is over. He does have a high feedback number and fake flash memory sellers are reluctant to surrender ids like that.

Still the efforts of the FrankenFlash project have made the global public aware of this id. If he does try to come back and sell fake flash memory he won’t have as long an opportunity. He will be discovered by frauded buyers.

The sad part about the victims of clicktoblue? Most buyers lost their money. As recorded in feedback, eBay ignored the pleas of members. clicktoblue refused to answer email or refund. Most fake flash member sellers do, once they are discovered.

One buyer reported receiving viruses, not uncommon with reprogrammed usb flash drives. In fact this is very common.

The reprogramming frequently is done on infected machines. In a lot of cases, the infected flash drive is used as a master. This master is used in a unit which clones many usb flash drives simultaneously.

Having to spend an additional $200 to repair a personal computer damaged by a fake usb pen stick must have really hurt. A lot of buyers who purchase cheap usb flash drive fakes, end up with viruses and repairs to their machines. It’s not an unusual and it happens a lot. It’s a terrible experience for people who buy on eBay and the financial consequences a hard lesson.

eBay is not the place to buy usb flash drives. It is just too dangerous. It really does not matter if the eBay seller is based in Asia or in your own country – if you buy them on eBay you place yourself at risk.

Price is usually the strongest indicator that you are about to purchase a fake, but not always. SOSFakeFlash reports many fraudulent sellers, aware of the FrankenFlash Projects work to expose sellers, have started to raise prices so they will not be spotted or obvious.

American eBay seller ClickToBlue is a perfect example of how you can buy a fake outside of Asia. It makes it clearn fake flash memory is not exclusive to eBay sellers in Asia.

Do You Want To sell Kingston DataTraveler USB Flash Drives On eBay Or the Internet? Becareful.

Recently The FrankenFlash Project uncovered a seller who was determined to sell counterfeit Kingston DataTraveler usb flash drives. The seller operates on eBay and also has an independent site. Operating under the name uk-choice and ukmobi this seller sold fake 8GB usb flash drives. When confronted, instead of removing the items for sale the seller simply changed the listing description to state the capacity found in testing, not realizing just how dangerous it was to consumers. It is a very serious case of fraud.

If you buy from an unauthorized wholesaler of Kingston Technology you are asking for only one thing, trouble. If you think that you are simply cutting out the middle men, and that this explains the lower prices, you are dead wrong! The sad fact is, the profit from selling true capacity usb flash drives, mp players and memory cards is small. To make money, you have to move volume! Too many honest sellers learned this the hard way on eBay, they were forced to close shop and even sell below their costs to try and reclaim at least some of their investment.

Most people think this is a hot selling item with large profits waiting in the wings. Unfortunately this is not true. SOSFakeFlash and FakeMemorySentinel are committed to finding and publishing fake flash sellers on the internet. FakeFlashNews also publishes the most important stories to increase consumer awareness.

If you are thinking of selling do your homework first! You don’t want to be reported at those sites, if they have evidence they will never consider removing it. The FrankenFlash Project is devoted to stopping this problem and there is now a zero tolerance policy in effect.

To see just how some people are so stubborn and motivated by greed and ignorance we are publishing the article presented at FakeFlashNews.

From FakeFlashNews:

Some sellers will do anything to make money. The case of uk-choice and ukmobi demonstrates just how far a seller will go to sell and offload false capacity usb nand technology to consumers causing data loss. This recent case first published at SOSFakeFlash demonstrates that sellers are often ignorant of the technology they sell and are determined to sell the items no matter what.

It is a frightening example. Consumers mean nothing. The reputation of Kingston Technologies means nothing. The only thing that seems important is to SELL! Get the investment back. Those who sell these devices in the Orient know exactly what they are doing. Those who sell these false capacity items in the West show their ignorance, stupidity and their greed.

If you wish to by MP Players, usb flash drives or memory cards, you should stay away from eBay. If you want to buy at an independent internet site, be extremely careful. Frankly Techreporters advises that if you really need these items, buy in a local reputable retail store. It will cost more but you will be spared from potentially becoming a victim and the nightmare that follows from trying to save a little.

The story of uk-choice, ukmobi is a perfect example of what is out there on the internet waiting for you!

From SOSFakeFlash:

uk-choice is an eBay seller of Counterfeit (Fake) Kingston DataTraveler Flash USB drives. Registered in the United Kingdom, uk-choice also has an independent website, ukmobi. This seller is ignorant of the technology he sells. One of the worse examples the FrankenFlash Project has uncovered so far. You will find this example astonishing!

Advertising at 8GB for this model,the photo is correct for the 8GB DataTraveler. Only they actually say the size is 4GB and in fact that is the tested capacity. The information on this fact has also independently been preserved.

Is it possible this seller simply has no understanding of the products he sells, or employee’s don’t?

On eBay uk-choice has released dangerous false capacity usb flash drives for sale. Furthermore, in using private actions for usb flash drives, uk-choice earns the classification of devious. This auction category is the most dangerous for nand based flash technology, it has allowed too many fraudlent sellers to victimize eBay members and to escape detection – increasing the number of victims.

As a result of complaint, what did uk-choice do?

1) Continue to list on eBay

But modify the title, yet show the same correct colour for the Kingston DataTraveler 8GB. Then further down in the listing shows:

Sorry there never was a 4GB Kingston DataTraveler in Black!

2) Makes similar changes at their own website.

Their website: http://www.ukmobi.co.uk/Product_info.asp?id=1501

The FrankenFlash Project has never seen such stupidity or ignorance of technology. Both uk-choice and ukmobi SELL technology. Are you frightened? If not you should be!

The test results for this usb flash drive:

Warning: Only 7983 of 7984 MByte tested.
The media is likely to be defective.
3.9 GByte OK (8285056 sectors)
3.8 GByte DATA LOST (8064128 sectors)
Details:2.8 GByte overwritten (6048096 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
984.3 MByte corrupted (2016032 sectors)
1.5 KByte aliased memory (3 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x00000000fcd70000
Expected: 0x00000000fcd70000
Found: 0x00000000aa55aa55
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 6.45 MByte/s
Reading speed: 18.6 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4

We doubt very much that this fraudster has been staying up all night performing low level formats to return these usb flash drives to the correct size of the actual flash storage chips. Any consumer who uses this flash drive would lose data after 3.9 GB without a corrective to return the usb flash drives to their actual capacity.

Even if uk-choice and ukmobi did this it is fraud. Why? Contact Kingston to ask their opinions!

uk-choice and ukmobi stubborn resolve to unload these dangerous devices to unsuspecting consumers demonstrates just how low some sellers can be. Anything to make money, anything to recover their capital. It doesn’t matter that they are harming Kingston Technologies reputation or causing data loss to consumers.

Profit at any cost, is the mantra uk-choice and ukmobi chant.

How Fraud is allowed on Ebay. The Case of Seller digitalting0303 Who Uses Private Auctions To Evade Detection

Do you wonder how fraud is permitted on eBay? How it is possible for those who wish to cheap and fraud buyers, get away with it? Recently SOSFakeFlash Published on a documented seller, digitalting0303. There is a lot of money made in selling false capacity MP Players, Usb flash drives and memory cards. digitalting0303 is a perfect example of how it is possible and how such sellers continue on eBay.

With permission from SOSFakeFlash we are reprinting their article, published on July 4th, 2009:

 

digitalting0303 , registered in Hong Kong, is a seller of fake (false capacity) usb flash drives, memory cards and is now offering MP Players! This seller defies eBay and is very skilled in fraud. The only thing digitalting0303 is interested in, is your money. This seller was caught by SOSFakeFlash in October 2008. Soon eBay suspended this id. Nothing was done to contact the buyers of the fake 32GB flash drives eBay to warn people about these dangerous usb flash drives that would lead to data loss.

Members of the FrankenFlash Project, patrol for sellers suspended. Why? As soon as the suspension is over they return to their old ways. The profit is good and they do not care what happens to you or your data. On June 15, 2009 SOSFakeFlash issued a new alert: digitalting0303 Ebay Fake Flash Seller High Alert Devious – Hong Kong digitalting0303, learned from his previous mistakes and began using private auctions to avoid detection (eBay Private Auction Listings – eBay Fake Flash Sellers Prefer – Victims Learn The Meaning The Hard Way – A Guide ).

This way, digitalting0303 could continue in selling fake flash items and avoid detection. digitalting0303 demonstrates just how easy it is for a fraudster to use eBay!

If you are a victim of digitalting0303, you have a choice to make. Let this seller continue to harm others and keep your money or teach him a lesson. The choice is yours. See: Escalation In False Capacity USB Fake Memory eBay! SOSFakeFlash News July 3rd, 2009

Do not expect eBay to do anything about digitalting0303. Do not forget they enjoy the fee’s they collect from these fake flash sellers. These scam artists are only stopped by victims. Will digitalting0303 be allowed to continue? You have the power to decide.

Use the tool: http://www.toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=digitalting0303&Dirn=Received+by make sure to leave negative feedback immediately, even before you file with PayPal. If you left positive, do follow up feedback stating the truth about what you discovered. Feedback remains forever. Chose your words carefully.

Leave the calling card of “SOSFakeFlash” and “H2testw” in your feedback to help others. Do not change your feedback to get a refund – you will only create more victims.

Just how bold is this fraudster? As this article is being written there are 60 fake usb flash drives, 40 MP Players and 10 memory cards offered.

Just added to the fake flash offerings:

FAKE 16GB 32GB 64GB – Conversations Between A Fake Flash Seller and A Victim – A Guide On The Truth

Why are fake usb pen sticks, MP players and memory cards sold on eBay? The false capacity ranging from 2GB 4GB 8GB 16GB 32GB 60GB 64GB 120GB 240GB 260GB 360GB to 500GB sizes.

One size is advertised but the true size is much smaller! You buy a 16GB MP player but only get 2GB or 4GB of storage. You buy a 16GB usb flash drive and get 1GB or 2GB of storage, maybe 4GB if you are lucky. You buy a 16GB memory card and only get 2GB or 4GB. When it comes to usb flash drives and memory cards, the digital alteration of the controller flash chip is deadly – you lose your data! Do the ebay sellers know what they are doing? Is there a reason?

Recently SOSFakeFlash asked for stories, experiences. We received one, an explicit conversation between a fake flash seller and a buyer victim. It dates to the summer of 2008 and nothing since has changed. It is published exactly as received. It might be long but if you want answers start reading!

A Buyer And A Seller Speak Fake 8GB 16GB 32GB USB Flash Pendrives Drives On eBay YouTube Videos

SOSFakeFlash has been fighting the issue of Fake MP Players, Memory Cards and Usb Flash Drives for 9 months. The biggest source of these items comes from eBay and have flooded 52 countries so far. On eBay it is an epidemic – often referred to as a plague. It kills data. Sold by unscrupulous ebay sellers these false capacity drives have caused so much harm to eBay members. It’s not just about money. It is the files – gone forever! We have two interesting YouTube video’s we invite you to watch!