sanding off chip markings?

A couple of weeks ago, I bought an FM radio from the 99 cent store
(Made in China).

I then decided to take it apart, to see what neat stuff was inside.

The first thing I noticed was a chip (microcontroller?) that had
scratches on top. After a closer look, it looked like someone took a
Dremel-like tool to sand off the chip markings.

Sounds like a good idea, to make reverse engineering tougher, but is
this standard procedure?

Michael

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