It seems that Fake AMD processors are in circulation from the online retailer Amazon, as some Amazon UK purchasers report.
How can a CPU be fake some of you may ask, well picture it like this, you buy a new Ferrari to drive home and open the bonnet to find that the engine underneath is from a Volkswagen Beetle. The fake AMD processors have heatspreaders which say that they are an FM2+ AMD A8-7600, but in fact the CPU underneath is of an older socket AMD CPU which is not pin compatible with the AMD FM2+ socket.
To be more specific the CPU underneath is an AM2 Athlon 64 X2 5200+, which is a particularly old AMD CPU which would definitely not work or fit in modern motherboards.
Update!
When speaking to AMD directly about this issue they issued us this response.
"It is apparent that this isolated incident is not related in any way to AMD's manufacturing or packaging, however AMD takes any reports of product tampering very seriously. As part of our ongoing efforts to help ensure consumers and businesses are sold only genuine AMD processors, we thoroughly investigate these extremely rare incidents in an effort to determine the source of the altered products, and consider all available legal remedies - including both civil and criminal prosecution - against persons found to have engaged in fraudulent actions affecting AMD products.
We are working in close cooperation with Amazon and the local enforcement authorities to conclude this incident quickly and ensure that the rigorous quality and reliability standards that AMD is known for are maintained. In addition, while AMD already implements extensive security measures to ensure the authenticity of our products, we are currently evaluating further measures to implement additional security measures for maximum future support."
