GPU scam warning: GeForce RTX 3090 being rebranded, sold as a fake RTX 4090

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NVIDIA's previous-gen GeForce RTX 3090 is being rebranded, rebadged, and ready to scam unsuspecting PC gamers as the more expensive, and higher-end RTX 4090... oh boy.

This new scam involves polishing the GPU die and re-labeling it using a laser, so that it looks like it's got some official markets on the GPU die from NVIDIA. You've got to hand it to these scammers, they're getting better at what they do, but you can still tell: the capacitor layout surrounding the GPU is obvious, as our friends at Uniko's Hardware said in the above post on X.

Uniko's Hardware posted: "Another fake 4090 that used a 3090 die labbed the die then remark it as 4090 AD102, the MLCC surrounding the die are the layout the 3090 uses" adding "or just check the location of the dots at corners".

• Read more: RTX 4090 scam: repair shops finds relabeled RTX 3080 Ti GPU inside

We've already had some very similar GPU scams that involved the RTX 3090 Ti and RTX 3080 Ti, but now it seems that these fake RTX 3090 graphics cards are being sold far below the MSRP for the RTX 4090, at just $550. If you're paying just $550 for an RTX 4090 in 2025, you should be able to SMELL that scam through your screen.

This scam seems to be very open in China, where companies extract GPUs from still functioning RTX 4090s and then install them onto custom-made PCBs with boosted VRAM. After that, the leftover PCBs and coolers are then sold through scammers to real people, without any return or refunding options.

Please, please be careful out there (especially for our readers in China).