A tightening global memory and semiconductor supply has begun to spill into a more dangerous problem for manufacturers and buyers: a rise in sophisticated counterfeiting and fraud that complicates sourcing, disrupts production planning, and raises compliance risks.
The latest flashpoint is the graphics card market. A third-party Amazon seller has been linked to at least 42 cases where customers paid $999 for a GeForce RTX 5090 and received a fanny pack instead, according to Tom’s Hardware. The RTX 5090 launched at $1,999, but pricing has surged well beyond $2,500 amid a global NAND shortage and constrained availability. The artificially low price point made the listings appear attractive during a period of extreme scarcity.
One buyer wrote that the seller “sent me a $1000 fanny pack not a graphics card,” Tom’s Hardware reported. Negative reviews began appearing in late December 2025, suggesting a rapid deterioration in seller behaviour during peak demand. Because the listings were fulfilled through Amazon’s Fulfilment by Amazon programme, reimbursement costs may ultimately sit with the platform, raising questions about how marketplaces absorb fraud losses during supply crunches.
Memory components show similar patterns. A report by WebProNews describes a surge in counterfeit DDR5 sales as RAM prices climb. Shortages linked to production cuts and a reallocation of capacity towards high-bandwidth memory for AI workloads have pushed prices sharply higher. WebProNews notes that buyers have received “outdated DDR2 sticks disguised as cutting-edge DDR5 kits,” creating direct compatibility and reliability risks.
Three ways to join our community and stay ahead:
Join our monthly electronics Astute Engineer newsletter
Join senior engineers and procurement with our LinkedIn Market Intel newsletter
These practices go beyond basic bait-and-switch. WebProNews reports that some counterfeiters alter firmware so modules falsely report higher speeds or capacities, making detection harder during initial inspection. With 64GB DDR5 kits now trading at several times early-2025 prices, even experienced buyers face pressure to secure stock quickly, reducing verification time.
The problem is not confined to consumer channels. In China, authorities in Shenzhen have dismantled a ring selling counterfeit imported semiconductors into automotive and industrial control supply chains, according to Silicon UK. Police said the group collected discarded chips, laser-polished them, and relabelled them as products from Infineon, Texas Instruments, and Analog Devices.
The South China Morning Post, cited by Silicon UK, reported that the fake chips were “prone to malfunction and could pose safety risks.” The operation targeted manufacturers affected by US export controls, which have tightened access to both advanced processors and some commodity components. Shenzhen authorities are now working with international chipmakers on traceability mechanisms, marking China’s first criminal case involving counterfeit imported chips.
For manufacturers, the implications are immediate. Longer lead times, volatile pricing, and restricted export flows are increasing exposure to counterfeit components that can undermine qualification processes and delay production schedules. As supply constraints persist into 2026, scrutiny of pricing anomalies, distributor provenance, and post-delivery testing is becoming a core operational requirement rather than a procurement formality.