Counterfeit Chips Proliferate Amid Shortages (.PDF Download)

June 21, 2021
With no immediate end in sight to the semiconductor chip shortage, more counterfeiters are looking to cash in on “panic buying” by bringing their substandard, unsafe chips to market.

The ongoing semiconductor chip shortage is fueling a counterfeit chip wave as companies struggle to get the raw materials they need to be able to make their products. Never ones to shy away from an opportunity to cash in on someone else’s challenges, counterfeit chip makers have stepped up their activities in hopes of grabbing their piece of the pie. Knowing this, procurement teams should be on even higher alert than usual when it comes to chip-sourcing.

“The worldwide shortages have opened the door for criminals to exploit the electronic component marketplace,” the Independent Distributors of Electronics Association’s Steve Calabria told Ars Technica. ”Companies that have never been rated by any other company in the industry [are] showing significant quantities of parts that are in shortage.”

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