They are faking used HD as new

[Carlos E.R.]

The information I have is from links in Spanish and German, so you have
to use the automated translator.

Note: you can obtain the FARM data (Field Accessible
Reliability Metrics) using smartctl:

smartctl -l farm /dev/sd[X]

<https://elchapuzasinformatico.com/2025/01/detectan-estafa-hdd-tiendas-discos-duros-usados-como-nuevos/>

Seagate hard drive scam detected: some shops are selling used HDDs as
new, with up to 50,000 hours of use!


<https://elchapuzasinformatico.com/2025/03/discos-duros-hdd-seagate-usados-valores-farm/>

Used Seagate hard drives case escalates: counterfeiters are already
altering FARM values


<https://www.heise.de/news/Gebrauchte-Seagate-Festplatten-als-Neuware-im-Umlauf-10254276.html>

Beware of fraud: Used hard drives sold as new


<https://www.computerbase.de/news/storage/auch-farm-werte-gefaelscht-betrug-bei-seagate-hdds-wird-immer-raffinierter.91694/>

FARM values ​​also falsified: Seagate HDD fraud is becoming increasingly
sophisticated

[Woozy Song]

Post by Carlos E.R.
smartctl -l farm /dev/sd[X]

You need smartctl 7.4 to read FARM.

an English story:
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/hdds/seagate-hard-drive-controversy-persists-as-scammers-discover-methods-to-alter-reliability-metrics

[Carlos E.R.]

Post by Woozy Song

Post by Carlos E.R.
smartctl -l farm /dev/sd[X]

You need smartctl 7.4 to read FARM.

I have 7.4 2023-08-01 r5530

FARM is news to me. On this desktop machine I have four Seagate disks,
two of them don't have FARM, and the other two do. But on one of those,
the time is useless on some parameters:


Power on Hours: 17325
Spindle Power on Hours: 577863279123
Head Flight Hours: 577863279093
Ah, good :-)

Post by Woozy Song
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/hdds/seagate-hard-drive-
controversy-persists-as-scammers-discover-methods-to-alter-reliability-
metrics

By Kunal Khullar published March 8, 2025


And this other, older:

<https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/hdds/german-seagate-customers-say-their-new-hard-drives-were-actually-used-resold-hdds-reportedly-used-for-tens-of-thousands-of-hours>

German Seagate customers say their 'new' hard drives were actually used
– resold HDDs reportedly used for tens of thousands of hours


«The initial retailer eventually stopped selling the 14TB and 16TB HDDs
at some point and even canceled an order that Heise.de had anonymously
placed.»

Why would "Chinese Chia mining farms" use disks that large?




And links to further info:

<https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/hdds/seagates-fraudulent-hard-drives-scandal-deepens-as-clues-point-at-chinese-chia-mining-farms>

Fraudulent hard drive scandal deepens at Seagate: Clues point at Chinese
Chia mining farms

By Anton Shilov published February 8, 2025

«Buyers concerned about their purchases can verify the true HDD usage
history. SMART parameters are sometimes unreliable, but the true
operational time can be checked using FARM values. To do this, one has
to use the Smartmontools application version 7.4 or higher (via command:
smartctl -l farm /dev/sda) or Seagate's Seatools software.»


But now it has been found that FARM values were altered.


<https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/hdds/seagate-responds-to-fraudulent-hard-drives-scandal-says-resellers-should-only-buy-from-certified-partners>

Seagate responds to fraudulent hard drives scandal, says resellers
should only buy from certified partners

By Matthew Connatser published January 30, 2025