When it comes to cheap tech, things aren’t always what they seem—sometimes, they’re elaborate scams hiding in plain sight.
Have you ever given in to the temptation of ordering one of those infamous Wish products? You know it’s probably too good to be true, but the price is just too tempting. One Reddit user thought he had been using a proper external hard drive for years, until curiosity got the best of him. He cracked it open… and instantly realized he’d been scammed. No fancy tech, no high-end storage— just a cheap trick in a plastic case. Here’s everything you need to know about this bizarre scam.
When 'High-Capacity' Means High Deception
The Reddit user had been using his external hard drive for over three years without any issues. However, when it stopped working, he decided to open it up out of curiosity. What he found was shocking — a cheap flash memory chip, not the expected mechanical HDD. The so-called 1TB drive was actually a small, low-capacity flash stick, making it clear that the "hard drive" was nothing more than a clever disguise.
Did I got Scammed? After 3 years my HDD stopped working and this was the Result after Opening it by in pchelp
To make the fake drive feel like the real deal, the seller had inserted a small metal plate inside the casing to add weight. While legitimate USB 3.0 HDDs can reach speeds up to 100 MB/s, this counterfeit drive struggled to hit 30 MB/s, closer to what you'd expect from a USB 2.0 drive. The user had been led to believe he had 1TB of storage, but in reality, the capacity was much smaller and the performance nowhere near the promised specs.
Spotting the Red Flags Early
The original Reddit post with the question "Did I got scammed?" was deleted after just two days. However, the comments, which clearly and unanimously answered with "Yes, you got scammed," remain. Some asked how he couldn’t notice the scam for so long, while others pointed out that buying the product on Amazon is no guarantee against getting scammed. We can also thank our colleagues at Gamestar for saving this online gem that this article is based on. One can only guess that shame was the reason the post was deleted.
So how can you be sure that you don’t follow the same trend as the Reddit user? One key indicator to watch out for is a mismatch between the advertised performance and actual behavior, such as the absence of typical HDD noises or unexpectedly slow transfer speeds. Always purchase from reputable vendors and double-check customer reviews, specifications, and benchmark data before making a decision. Finally, test the product by running a benchmark test as soon as it arrives to ensure it meets the promised performance.Have you been a victim of such a scam? What has earned your trust in the hardware business? Tell us in the comments.