Facepalm: Unscrupulous resellers are still trying to hawk used Seagate hard drives as brand new. After tinkering with the SMART system, the fraudsters have found a new way to clean usage logs and make worn-out drives appear as new. Users can still protect themselves against this scam but must be vigilant. It is still a big problem that is not going away.

A recently updated report by Heise online found that fraudsters are still finding ways to pass off used Seagate hard disk drives as new. Emails from deceived buyers sharing their unfortunate purchase experience have not ended since Heise exposed the fraud weeks ago. The only change is that the scammers are now aware of their tell-tale mistakes and have developed a new way to fake usage data.

The original method, discovered earlier this year, involved several tricks to fake usage logs and make the drive look new. As Heise pointed out, analyzing the Field Accessible Reliability Metrics (FARM) values gives away the ruse. Now, the crooks have worked out how to change even these deep-seated analytic numbers.

The FARM log system provides access to metrics regarding drive health, usage, and environmental parameters. Along with SMART values, data stored in FARM logs could help customers predict a potential drive failure event. The FARM log is easy to use with the right tools. That is to say that all customers can readily access logged metrics using openly available tools.

Before the scammers discovered their new tinkering method, users could reliably detect a “fake” new drive by comparing the number of operating hours recorded by SMART values with those stored in FARM. Heise notes that this strictly hardware-based check-up method is no longer reliable. Looking at the stored drive data in newer, multi-terabyte Seagate Exos HDDs is useless now that the scammers are tampering with it.

All is not lost, though. Users can employ tips and tricks to protect themselves against untrustworthy sellers. First, new HDDs should not have a production date older than six months. A missing sticker on the drive’s front is also a sign the drive is fraudulent. As previously recommended, scan the drive’s QR or barcodes and compare the warranty expiration with the drive’s manufacture date. It should be a few months more than five years.

The scam discovered in January involved heavily used Seagate drives from Chia cryptocurrency miners. Chinese coin farmers shut down most of these mining operations and tried to resell the drives, many going to reputable retailers. Seagate is not involved in the scam but is investigating as it ramps up its HAMR drive production and sales.