What you need to know
- In October 2021, a shipment of EVGA RTX 30-series GPUs was stolen.
- It's been reported that some of the stolen GPUs have resurfaced by way of a Vietnamese retailer.
Not all stories have a happy ending or even a proper ending. So it may surprise many to know the curious case of the stolen EVGA GPUs, an unresolved story from late October and early November of 2021, actually has an update, if recent reports are to be believed.
According to Vietnam Gaming Drama, some of the cards have made it to market — specifically, the Vietnamese market (via VideoCardz). That's far from home compared to the graphics cards' original Southern California destination, and at this point, there's likely no way home for the GPUs. Considering they're already being purchased by consumers who likely have no clue the cards they're buying were stolen, it seems unlikely EVGA will be able to reclaim much of anything from its missing batch.
The discovery was made when a purchaser of a few of the cards in question attempted to check their warranty status only to discover EVGA had those GPUs' serial numbers flagged as part of the stolen shipment.
The best graphics cards are a highly sought-after commodity right now, so it's anyone's guess as to whether any purchaser of a stolen GPU is going to go through hoops to do the "right" thing and return the product when not doing so means they get to keep something rare that they got at a relatively decent price compared to what non-stolen cards are going for.
In any event, should you live in Vietnam and happen to find an official EVGA RTX GPU at a reasonable price, consider checking its serial number with EVGA.
