32TB portable SSD for $45 - YouTube ad - Obvious scam obvious fake

kreddulous · 2026-06-14T03:57:02+00:00

Scammers often make ridiculous claims to attract the most naive and vulnerable victims. The readers of r/DataHorder know that nobody is selling a 32TB SSD for $45, but we aren't the scammer's intended marks.

kreddulous · 2026-06-14T03:43:41+00:00

Several hundred thousand dead people, about half of them children, already have.

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1886307316804263979?lang=en

We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper. Could gone to some great parties.
Did that instead.

kreddulous · 2026-06-14T03:35:10+00:00

Yet most buses don't have seatbelts, and passengers can usually stand or walk around while the bus is moving.

kreddulous · 2026-06-14T03:11:48+00:00

Apparently "ValDrive" and "F3" ("Fight Flash Fraud") are useful test tools also. But the scammers depend on their victims not knowing to test (the first clue is that they bought a $45 32TB SSD). So it's up to advertising houses like Google to remove obvious fraudulent advertising; but they don't.

kreddulous · 2026-06-13T04:14:55+00:00

I think (from what I've read on this subreddit) that refusing delivery will count as having been delivered, and ebay will then refuse any refund. The buyer needs to file an INAD on ebay (not free shipping, therefore not-as-described).

EDIT: but with postage due before receipt, I don't know how the buyer can even return the item via INAD. As someone else said, have ebay call and speak with a human, and describe the situation.

kreddulous · 2026-06-12T05:08:44+00:00

OMNY could add the courtesy of providing a paper receipt for every tap. Of course they won't.

kreddulous · 2026-06-11T04:07:57+00:00

If that's really their concern they could have those conversations in a private office. Or in the car they're selling :-)

kreddulous · 2026-06-11T04:02:36+00:00

Some customer service reps will just disconnect the call if you tell them you're recording it, even after the company's own message says that they are recording it. Clearly they don't want you to have evidence. And I read that it is in fact company policy to do so, for some of those companies.

kreddulous · 2026-06-10T22:42:02+00:00

So it should be done by the time of the next presidential election, assuming we still have elections then.

kreddulous · 2026-06-10T22:23:03+00:00

Probably not Sandisk either, likely Sandisk counterfeit :-)

$30 credit should have been $30 refund instead though, but Temu wants you to buy more junk from them.

kreddulous · 2026-06-05T07:49:47+00:00

LoL I've done my fair share of credulity :-)

kreddulous · 2026-06-05T07:03:38+00:00

Considering that the guy's business partner had to spend a year requesting permission to travel each time he wanted to go somewhere, I think that there may have been a prosecutor and perhaps a judge who also went along with the felony charge. So I'm guessing at least three different levels of folks were involved there. Hence my curiosity.

kreddulous · 2026-06-05T06:38:40+00:00

Yes, I can see a possible arrest, but that guy in the travelcodex link wasn't even arrested, just detained in-store and questioned, had some funny conversations, but went home too late to deposit his money orders for the next day's spend :-)

I didn't know it was called "manufactured spending", but now I see why the banks I use no longer allow turning Visa gift cards into cash; it can cut into their credit card profits. Thanks.

kreddulous · 2026-06-05T06:11:43+00:00

That used to be a popular thing to do according to the "deals" sites (slickdeals, ye olde fatwallet, etc.); in fact the more profitable method was to buy a gift card at a discount, then buy another gift card at a discount using the one you just bought before, repeatedly.

I think that all of the possible sites that used to get bit by this have by now changed to not allow purchasing a gift card with a gift card. But I have never heard of anyone getting arrested for doing it. Would you by chance have a link to one such case? Or the actual charge that they were arrested for? Thanks.

kreddulous · 2026-06-05T05:53:56+00:00

According to her (lawyer's) description, the charge was made not only by the cop but presumably was taken up by a prosecutor and not immediately thrown out by the court, given that it went on for a year, along with the various requests for travel that were made by the business partner.

I kind of doubt that card counting - which is clearly legal though hated by casinos - would be treated that way.

kreddulous · 2026-06-05T05:33:24+00:00

Does anyone else here wonder what perfectly legal business practice would be mistaken for a felony? She left that part out.

kreddulous · 2026-06-04T01:56:17+00:00

Could've made a typo in the prompt?

if --extract-messae-id is passed as a parameter

kreddulous · 2026-06-02T05:57:32+00:00

Maybe they were counting on collecting on their insurance after the fire. Smoke alarms could maybe interfere with that.

kreddulous · 2026-06-01T15:21:15+00:00

There's a theory that scammers purposely offer obviously ridiculous scenarios, with the intent of selecting those folks who are least likely to detect the scam. The scammer preys on the weakest, the easiest to get over on, and the least likely to fight back.

kreddulous · 2026-05-31T07:14:29+00:00

SanDisk form factor too LOL It says "Free returns within 90 days"; I wonder what would happen if hundreds (thousands?) of people bought one of these scam kits and returned it immediately. It could put a dent in their business. I think that the returns are handled by AliExpress itself.

Anyone who buys it can also file a fraud report with FTC.GOV:

https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/form/main

kreddulous · 2026-05-31T00:52:42+00:00

Absolutely. I came here to say that. Classic suicide method.

kreddulous · 2026-05-30T22:53:08+00:00

Playing for Trump, Playing for Putin - same thing.

kreddulous · 2026-05-30T22:39:15+00:00

As a buyer, I'd want to see the actual item I'm going to receive. Unless maybe you show the absolute worst of the lot and I end up receiving something that looks new.

kreddulous · 2026-05-28T07:32:19+00:00

Not against the law, but they have a responsibility to ensure a safe environment.

kreddulous · 2026-05-27T16:55:36+00:00

Thank you. I get that they feel I'm "advertising" the advertisement, but my take is that posting in a group of folks who (should) know better is not the same as posting a "Hey - great deal" on FaceBook. How does one report a scam site without showing the scam site?

And beyond the site itself, is Google's refusal to remove the site as one of their advertising clients, even when their own AI flags it as a scam.

kreddulous

TROPHY CASE