Amazon Customer Receives Counterfeit RTX 4090 Graphics Card
In a recent incident, a customer who purchased a discounted RTX 4090 graphics card from Amazon received a counterfeit product filled with shipping damage. The victim, who sent the card to North West Repair (NWR) for inspection, discovered a series of alarming issues with the supposedly high-end GPU.
Upon initial inspection, NWR found a large crack in the PCB and a melted power connector, indicating significant damage to the card. Further inspection revealed that the thermal spacer only covered half of the memory chips, and the GPU itself appeared to be completely burned out, rendering the card unrepairable.
The situation took an even more troubling turn when it was discovered that the card was not the RTD 4090 as advertised. The serial number on the card’s sticker claimed it was an RTX 4090 with 24GB VRAM, but the code revealed it was actually an RTX 4080. NWR initially claimed it was an RTX 4090 laptop GPU, but the company later confirmed this was a mistake.
This incident is not the first of its kind, as reports have surfaced of other customers receiving fake graphics cards from Amazon. In one case, a Canadian buyer received an RTX 3060 Ti card filled with a putty-like substance instead of the genuine product. Amazon has stated that no refunds will be issued until the “correct” merchandise is returned to its warehouse.
It’s worth noting that the victim in this recent incident purchased the card as part of a discounted deal on Amazon returns. Similar cases have been reported where criminals keep usable cards and return fake ones, which are then sold to unsuspecting customers.
In yet another concerning incident, a gamer in China spent $1,600 on a second-hand RTX 4090 only to discover that it had no GPU and was missing a VRAM chip.
Amazon has yet to comment on this specific incident, but it serves as a reminder for consumers to be wary of heavily discounted deals, especially on high-value items such as graphics cards. Vigilance and thorough inspection upon receiving a product can help prevent falling victim to counterfeit items.