Suspected Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 scam involves delidded Intel CPUs

A Redditor reported finding a suspected counterfeit AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 that was sold and shipped by Amazon in a sealed box. While the labeling matched a genuine unit, the contact layout on the bottom of the chip was different. A commenter on the thread suggested a scammer likely delidded a real 9950X3D2 and attached its heat spreader to an old Intel CPU. The fraudulent chip may also have reprinted text on it.

Genuine AM5 processors like the 9950X3D2 feature gold contact pads across nearly the entire underside, but the counterfeit unit had a large gap in the center resembling an Intel CPU. This suggests a scammer purchased a real processor and returned the fake version to Amazon to receive a refund. The National Retail Federation reported that fraudulent returns accounted for nearly 14% of American retail returns in 2023, totaling about $101 billion in losses.