So many people are stealing gaming PC RAM that Corsair is changing its packaging

Corsair has officially revealed that it has steadily been reworking the packaging for Corsair Vengeance RAM, replacing cardboard boxes with clear plastic to help prevent theft. The new DDR5 packaging lets buyers see the RAM modules without opening the pack and means that fraudulent returns can be more easily detected, too.

Corsair already packages its best gaming RAM modules in clear plastic clamshells, but these are then put inside a completely opaque cardboard box. With the new packaging, the clamshell is left visible, with just a small band of cardboard wrapped around the middle for branding, specs, and other information.

As well as allowing buyers and store returns processors to clearly see what's inside the new Corsair memory packs, the new system also incorporates a "tamper-evident belly label." Once the packaging has been opened, this label is irreversibly marked, making it clear if a buyer has been shipped a product that has been tampered with or if a buyer has returned RAM that has been opened.

A key reason for Corsair going to these lengths (fully described here) is that the company sells dummy memory modules. These are used to fill out the third and fourth memory slots found in many motherboards, allowing users to achieve the clean aesthetic of a fully-stocked set of memory slots (as shown below) while only needing to buy two real sticks of memory.

These "Light Enhancement" kits only cost $34.99 for a pair of DDR5 memory modules, so even before the memory price explosion, there was documented fraud from people swapping real memory for these kits and pocketing the difference.

However, with the recent RAM price increases, this fraud has kicked up a notch, with the temptation to make hundreds of dollars from a single theft or fraudulent return making it more prevalent.

Corsair says the packaging will "will roll out soon," with the company prioritizing higher value products first, and it only applies to DDR5 being sold in packs of two. It also points out that some products will continue with the old packaging but will incorporate a new security label for added protection.

It's worth noting that not only is this a PR win for Corsair, which could also save them some money on dealing with dodgy returns and theft, there's presumably also some cost saving involved in moving to a package that uses far less cardboard. Still, it seems like a win-win for all, unless you're one of those dastardly scammers, of course.