Man outsmarts GPU scammers by filming his RTX 5070 Ti unboxing, and finds two-liter water bottle inside

The classic GPU swap scam is becoming an all-too-familiar sight, with buyers opening supposedly sealed RTX boxes only to find everything from rocks to bags of grain instead of the graphics card they paid for. Now, another buyer has fallen victim to the same trick.

A customer in Moscow ordered a GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5070 Ti from Russian online retailer Wildberries for 90,000 rubles, around $1,125, only to find a two-liter plastic bottle of water inside the factory-sealed box.

Fortunately, the buyer had the foresight to film the entire unboxing with store employees present. The video, shared on X by @oldValkyrie, shows a Wildberries employee handing the package directly to him. Before opening anything, he holds the box up to the camera to show the serial number label and outer plastic wrap, both of which appear completely intact.

He then removes the wrapping and opens the retail box, only to find a two-liter water bottle inside, almost certainly chosen because its weight made the package feel legitimate enough to pass through without raising suspicion. Because the unboxing was filmed from start to finish at the pickup point, under store surveillance and in front of staff, there is little basis for suggesting the buyer made the swap himself.

The most likely explanation for this type of fraud is a fraudulent return. A scammer buys a high-end GPU, removes it, replaces it with a weighted object, then uses a heat gun to re-shrink-wrap the box so it looks factory-sealed before returning it.

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If warehouse staff only verify the package's weight without opening the sealed box, the tampered unit can simply go back into inventory and eventually reach another buyer. Russian hardware outlet i2HARD noted that the protective film on these boxes can be reapplied without much difficulty.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Question #1

How did the buyer prove the GPU box was sealed before opening at the Wildberries pickup point?

He filmed the entire unboxing at the pickup point with store employees present and under store surveillance. Before opening anything he held the box up to the camera to show the serial number label and the outer plastic wrap, both appearing completely intact, then removed the wrapping and opened the retail box on camera.

Answered

Question #2

What evidence in the filmed unboxing rules out the buyer swapping the GPU himself?

The video shows the buyer being handed the package directly by a Wildberries employee and he holds the box up to camera with the serial number label and outer plastic wrap appearing completely intact before opening. The entire unboxing was filmed from start to finish at the pickup point, under store surveillance and in front of staff, which leaves little basis for suggesting the buyer swapped the GPU himself.

Answered

Question #3

Why did the scammers likely use a two-liter water bottle as the replacement item inside the RTX 5070 Ti box?

They almost certainly used the two-liter bottle because its weight made the sealed box feel legitimate and would help it pass casual weight checks without raising suspicion. The article describes the bottle as a weighted object chosen to make the package seem authentic enough to go back into inventory.

Answered

Question #4

How can fraudsters make a returned GPU box appear factory-sealed after removing the card, according to the article?

The article says scammers can remove the GPU, replace it with a weighted object, then use a heat gun to re-shrink-wrap the retail box so it appears factory-sealed. It also notes that the protective film on these boxes can be reapplied without much difficulty.

Answered

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Interestingly, this isn't the first time Wildberries has been caught up in a GPU swap scam. A separate buyer who ordered an RTX 5080 for around 113,986 rubles found a bag of grain inside the box instead. His refund requests were initially rejected, and police declined to open a criminal case. It took prosecutors overturning that decision before Wildberries issued a full refund on July 21, more than two months after the purchase.