Counterfeit Samsung 990 PRO slipped through OS checks, but its speed was below USB 2.0.

The spread of generative AI has driven increased demand for data center storage, and the supply of NAND, the material used in SSDs, has been unable to keep up. The supply shortage has driven up the price per weight of SSDs to a level comparable to that of gold , making SSDs being sold below market value more visible. Technology media outlet Tom's Hardware recently reported on a case where a counterfeit Samsung NVMe SSD, the '990 PRO,' had slipped through basic PC checks.

Fake Samsung 990 Pro passes basic checks but runs slower than a USB 2.0 drive — counterfeit SSDs proliferate as NAND shortage creates the perfect storm for bogus deals
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ssds/fake-samsung-990-pro-passes-basic-checks-but-runs-slower-than-a-usb-2-0-drive-counterfeit-ssds-proliferate-as-nand-shortage-creates-the-perfect-storm-for-bogus-deals

A Reddit user purchased a Samsung NVMe SSD, the ' 990 PRO, ' and installed it in their PC. Windows recognized the SSD as a 'Samsung 990 PRO 2TB.' The free software ' CrystalDiskInfo ,' which displays the health and SMART information of HDDs and SSDs, also displayed the model name, capacity, firmware information, and other information, so at least on the screen, it appeared to be a genuine product.

On the other hand, a closer look at the display revealed some incongruities. CrystalDiskInfo displayed the connection standard as PCIe 3.0, which was unnatural for the '990 PRO,' which is supposed to be PCIe 4.0 compatible.

The deciding factor was speed. File transfers were extremely slow, with benchmarks showing sequential read speeds of only about 20MB/s and sequential write speeds of only about 10MB/s. Tom's Hardware points out that 'these results are slower than USB 2.0 devices.'

Ultimately, the device was identified as a clone when Samsung's official management tool, Samsung Magician , detected it as a fake.

The Reddit post that started this story has since been deleted, but the comments on the post are still available.

Some of the comments included a personal experience such as, 'I bought a Samsung microSD card on the e-commerce platform Flipkart, but it turned out to be a fake. I got Samsung to issue me a document stating that it was a fake, and submitted it, but Flipkart refused to acknowledge it, citing internal standards, and would not take any action,' as well as a comment highlighting the risks involved in distribution, such as, 'An acquaintance of mine who sells SSDs on Amazon received a return, and apparently the genuine product was replaced with a fake and returned.'

Tom's Hardware summarizes, 'When purchasing an SSD, be careful of the seller, and after receiving the product, check it with the official tools and perform a simple speed check as soon as possible.'

In addition, the genuine '990 Pro' that supports the high-speed communication standard PCIe 4.0 can be purchased from the following.

Amazon.co.jp: Samsung 990 PRO 1TB PCIe Gen 4.0 x4 (Maximum Transfer Speed 7,450MB/s) NVMe M.2 (2280) Internal SSD MZ-V9P1T0B-IT/EC (Official Japanese Warranty): Computers & Peripherals