German scammer dupes two different buyers into spending thousands on hollow RTX 5090 GPUs — stripped-out cards netted fraudster $5,000 despite being worthless
- ID
- 22327
- Status
- summarized
- Published
- 08 Sep 2026, 6:30 PM
- Fetched
- 08 Sep 2026, 8:05 PM
- Provider
- Tom's Hardware
- Category
- technology
- Original URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/german-scammer-dupes-two-different-buyers-into-spending-thousands-on-hollow-rtx-5090-gpus-stripped-out-cards-netted-fraudster-usd5-000-despite-being-worthless
- Source URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/feeds/all
Summary
- Score
- 3.0
- Created
- 08 Sep 2026, 8:09 PM
- Tags
- Audience
- ai_ml_learnersdevelopers
What happened
A scammer in Germany sold two stripped-out, non-functional RTX 5090 GPU shells to separate buyers, netting approximately $5,000 for cards that contained no actual components. The buyers each paid thousands believing they were getting Nvidia's flagship GPU.
Why it matters
If you are sourcing high-demand GPUs on secondary markets for AI/ML workloads or local inference setups, insist on in-person inspection or escrow with verified testing before payment — this scam worked twice because buyers trusted listings for a scarce, high-value card.
Discussion angle
How scarcity-driven demand for flagship GPUs creates fraud opportunities, and what practical verification steps small teams or individuals in Malaysia should take when buying second-hand compute hardware from overseas sellers.