If you've bought an internal Seagate hard drive, beware of the growing refurbished Chia scandal - here's what you need to know

Seagate Exos M HDD
(Image credit: Seagate)

  • Seagate denies involvement in fraudulent HDD resales.
  • Buyers can check Seagate HDD usage history using relevant tools.
  • Retailers are offering some sort of compensation.

Seagate hard drives that were previously used in Chinese Chia cryptocurrency mining farms have been resold as new by unsuspecting retailers.

An investigation by Heise indicates large quantities of high-mileage drives have surfaced in the market, particularly in Europe, Australia, Thailand, and Japan.

These drives, often datacenter-grade Seagate Exos models, have been found with thousands of operational hours despite being marketed as brand new.

Chia farms and the flood of second-hand drives

At the peak of the cryptocurrency boom, mining operations required vast storage capacity, leading to a surge in demand for high-end HDDs. However, as the profitability of Chia mining declined, many farms shut down and sold their hardware. These hard drives were then repackaged and reintroduced into the market, deceiving customers.

Concerned buyers can verify the true usage history of their Seagate HDDs using special diagnostic tools. While SMART parameters can be reset to hide prior use, the FARM (field-accessible reliability metrics) values provide a more accurate record.

Users can check these values by running the command smartctl -l farm /dev/sda in Smartmontools version 7.4 or higher or by using Seagate’s own Seatools software to inspect the drive’s operational history.

Seagate has stated it only distributes genuine hard drives through official channel, and it suspects these used HDDs entered the secondary market before reaching consumers.

Nevertheless, It has also launched a full-scale investigation and has urged affected buyers to report any suspicious purchases to fraud@seagate.com.

Affected retailers are firefighting the issue, with Galaxus creating online help pages for affected customers, while Proshop is offering free returns and replacements. Alternate, a German retailer, denies prior knowledge of the issue but has encouraged customers to report used drives. Wortmann, on the other hand, insists on verifying HDDs before offering compensation.

Via TomsHardware

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Efosa Udinmwen
Freelance Journalist

Efosa has been writing about technology for over 7 years, initially driven by curiosity but now fueled by a strong passion for the field. He holds both a Master's and a PhD in sciences, which provided him with a solid foundation in analytical thinking. Efosa developed a keen interest in technology policy, specifically exploring the intersection of privacy, security, and politics. His research delves into how technological advancements influence regulatory frameworks and societal norms, particularly concerning data protection and cybersecurity. Upon joining TechRadar Pro, in addition to privacy and technology policy, he is also focused on B2B security products. Efosa can be contacted at this email: udinmwenefosa@gmail.com

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