Fraudsters seem to target Seagate hard drives in order to pass old, used HDDs as new ones using intricate techniques

• Seagate Exos and IronWolf Pro HDDs are prime targets for scammers
• Scammers alter QR codes and even drive serial numbers
• Toshiba and Western Digital are not as targeted as Seagate — why?

The controversy of fraudsters modifying used Seagate hard drives to appear unused despite having been powered on for thousands of hours rages on.

Exos HDDs were initially targeted, but new evidence from Heise (via ComputerBase — both originally in German) suggests IronWolf and IronWolf Pro NAS drives with capacities between 8 TB and 16 TB are now also being drawn into the scam.

Preowned units of the fastest hard drives can appear new if key data such as SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) parameters are tampered with.

How scammers manipulate hard drive data

Some of these drives have been found to have logged over 27,000 operating hours. However, users can verify a drive’s true condition using tools like smartmontools to retrieve hidden operational data.

Scammers also alter product labels and QR codes to bypass Seagate’s warranty verification system. Instead of directing users to a page displaying accurate product details, these modified QR codes redirect to Seagate’s warranty check but do not provide the serial number or storage capacity.

Another method used is serial number manipulation, wherein fraudsters take serial numbers from newer drives and attach them to old units, tricking Seagate’s system into displaying an extended warranty period.

However, this system often calculates exactly five years of warranty from their supposed production date, which is a potential red flag that worried customers can investigate.

Experts suggest that potential buyers can check certain logs - such as Self Test Logs or SATA Phy Event Counters - to determine if a drive has been previously used.

Seagate has acknowledged the issue, confirming that fraudulent practices are affecting IronWolf and Exos HDDs. The company is currently investigating the matter to address these concerns.

In the meantime, buyers are advised to be cautious when purchasing Seagate hard drives from unofficial sellers and to verify product details using multiple sources before making a purchase.

So far, there have been no confirmed reports of similar scams involving Toshiba or Western Digital (WD) hard drives. This raises the question: why is Seagate the primary target?

One possible reason is that Seagate’s verification system relies on data that fraudsters find easier to manipulate; unlike Seagate, WD and Toshiba do not use the same FARM value system.

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