No, you can’t get a 16TB SSD for a hundred bucks

If you’ve searched for exterior SSDs on Amazon.com not too long ago, you might have observed one thing bizarre: blended in with the 1TB and 2TB drives from manufacturers like Samsung and SanDisk are a bunch of listings for 16TB SSDs, principally round $100, and with surprisingly excessive person rankings. Every single one is a rip-off, even when they’re shipped by Amazon.

Josh Hendrickson — Editor-in-Chief of Review Geek — purchased one of many “16TB SSDs” and tore it all the way down to reveal a generic 64GB microSD card on a USB 2.0 card reader. Adrian Kingsley-Huges, writing for ZDNet in May 2022, discovered the very same factor. Different packaging and completely different case colours, however the identical trick.

The Verge confirmed that a number of faux 16TB drives confirmed up on the primary web page of outcomes for “external SSD,” and over half the outcomes for “16TB SSD” have been fakes — the remainder have been both 16TB enterprise onerous drives, multi-drive enclosures, and one precise 16TB exterior drive, which prices $2,400 and incorporates two 8TB SSDs. While the highest faux had a 3.6-star score, the subsequent two have been 4.8 and 4.2, respectively. How are such apparent fakes getting such excessive rankings?

It’s the rip-off Hendrickson calls “review merging,” and Consumer Reports calls “review hijacking.” As Hendrickson explains, some third-party sellers take previous listings and change them with new gadgets, leaving the opinions however altering every thing else. A fast scan of 1 faux 16TB drive itemizing confirmed five-star opinions for laptop computer chargers, basketball backpacks, stickers, display screen protectors, Mardi Gras beads, and mousepads. The sellers collect good opinions for low-cost generic merchandise, swap in a costlier faux, after which take it down when dangerous opinions begin piling up.

Hendrickson says he reported the faux SSD to Amazon and is awaiting their response. While among the listings grew to become “unavailable” after linking Amazon to them, although, some have been nonetheless up. One was changed by a new product altogether.

This isn’t a new trick. In 2019, an Amazon spokesperson informed Consumer Reports they’d spent over $400 million to handle the issue in a single yr alone. “Last year, we prevented more than 13 million attempts to leave an inauthentic review and we took action against more than five million bad actors attempting to manipulate reviews,” they mentioned on the time.

And but, practically 4 years later, it continues to be a difficulty.

“The old maxim remains true: if it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t,” warns Hendrickson. “If you’re unsure, check the reviews closely. Do they match up to the product? If not, run.”

A 16TB SSD for $100? Too good to be true. But you can get a actually quick 1TB exterior SSD for about $100. Just keep on with respected storage manufacturers like SanDisk, Samsung, and Western Digital. And don’t overlook to learn the opinions.