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A Russian repair specialist, VIK-off, recently uncovered a sophisticated counterfeit RTX 4090 scam. A customer purchased the card as a bare printed circuit board for 30,000 Rubles, approximately $350, intending to use it for a repair project. Because the cooling system was absent, the buyer could not verify the card's functionality before the transaction.
The counterfeiters demonstrated significant effort in replicating the hardware. The fake GPU die was soldered onto the board using a ball grid array, mimicking a legitimate manufacturing process. The package included convincing labeling, chip markings, and surrounding compound, though inconsistencies in substrate color and surface reflections eventually exposed the fraud.
Further investigation revealed that the memory chips were also fraudulent. While they appeared to be genuine Micron packages, removing one revealed GDDR6 memory instead of the expected GDDR6X. VIK-off suspects the underlying PCB might be from an RTX 3090 Ti, though this remains unconfirmed.
Experts advise extreme caution when purchasing used, untested, or broken high-end graphics cards. Buyers should demand proof of functionality and test hardware in a system before completing a purchase, as convincing markings do not guarantee genuine components.
