A Reddit user named Martin discovered that his father's new "20TB portable HDD", purchased for about $51, was a scam. Despite its appearance, the device was primarily a plastic shell filled with weights and a small circuit board rather than actual storage. True 20TB drives typically cost over $200. Windows recognized the device as a large-capacity HDD but would freeze upon usage, illustrating how users can be misled by deceptive manufacturing techniques that manipulate drive firmware to appear as higher capacities.
As his father brought him the 20TB portable HDD for troubleshooting, Martin found the device to be mostly a plastic box filled with weights and a small PCB.
Martin quickly realized that the portable HDD his father had purchased for around $51 was a scam, as true 20TB drives are significantly more expensive.
The scam involved programming the board's firmware so the device appeared as a high-capacity storage device, tricking users into thinking it was their fault.
Windows registered the fake HDD as a 19TB drive, but attempts to use it resulted in system hangs, revealing the clever deception behind it.
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