[_Nat_]

That's not a particularly scary scenario when buying from, e.g., Amazon.com, as it'd seem like the unit could just be returned for not being the advertised product.

I'm curious, though, why would anyone bother with a scam like that?

I mean, it'd seem like someone with the necessary technical skills could make a larger, steadier income through honest means. So why would they waste their time/effort on something that can backfire when noticed by the returns center or the next buyer?

It certainly wouldn't surprise me if people've done this a few times -- I mean, people do all sorts of weird things -- but is it something that's happened enough to be notable?

[judge2020]

This was done a bit with microsd cards https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-D6tYBX8vE

[rasz]

https://www.newsweek.com/22-year-old-allegedly-scammed-amazo...

Thats a lot of zeroes for not much effort.