Thermal Grizzly CEO Roman “Der8auer” Hartung says his company recently fell victim to large-scale materials fraud while trying to source copper and aluminum for its cooling products, according to PC Gamer. 

The company needs several tons of metal to machine components such as GPU water blocks. With copper prices rising and European supplies expensive, Hartung turned to suppliers in China’s metal market. After reviewing documentation and conducting supplier checks, Thermal Grizzly placed two orders—one for copper and another for aluminum and copper.

Weeks later, pallets of metal arrived in Germany and the firm began its usual quality inspections. An initial X-ray spectroscopy test on a sample suggested the sheets were pure copper. But a conductivity test produced unexpected results. When the team milled the material to investigate further, it produced sparks—something real copper shouldn’t do.

An engineer then tried a magnet, revealing the truth: the “copper” was actually steel coated with copper. In one shipment, a few genuine sheets had been placed on top of a pallet filled with plated steel underneath.

PC Gamer writes that the aluminum order turned out to be fraudulent as well. The top layers of the pallet contained real aluminum sheets, but below them were steel plates and empty space, allowing the shipment to pass a weight check despite being largely fake.

The orders cost about €40,000. While some value can be recovered as scrap metal, the company still faces a significant loss. Legal options are limited because the suppliers are based in China.

Hartung noted that working with Chinese manufacturers is common and the company had carried out multiple checks before ordering. Fraud like this often appears when the price of key industrial materials spikes, creating incentives for suppliers to pass off lower-value metals as genuine products.

Thermal Grizzly ultimately rejected the materials rather than risk its reputation by using them.