A security researcher has sounded the alarm over a portable SSD listed on both AliExpress and Walmart, which appears to be programmed to misrepresent its storage capacity.

How much would you pay for 30 terabytes of portable flash storage? At current market prices, you could make that happen for about $4000, assuming you were okay with splitting it between multiple drives. But what would you say if I told you I could give you 30 TB of portable SSD capacity, in a single, standard-sized drive, for only a few dollars?

Yes, it’s a scam with you and you don’t have to buy it because it was a trick to scam people.

Upon close inspection, he found the manufacturer had likely meddled with the drive’s firmware to trick Windows into misreporting the available storage capacity, which in reality is far, far lower.

However, online shopping is also a haven for sketchy third-party sellers to scam unsuspecting buyers. 

Scammer took two 512MB Flash drives and then add hacked firmware that makes it misreport its size. This means that when you write a big file, hacked firmware simply writes all new data on top of old data while keeping the directory (with false info) intact.

If you see a deal you like from an unknown third-party seller at Amazon or Walmart, it’s a good idea to check them out first. Besides feedback from verified consumers, search for seller ratings at BBB, Trustpilot, or Sitejabber. That way, you can prevent getting duped and save yourself the hassle of having to return for a refund.