Can an usb kill a PSU?

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I received a call from a friend telling me that he connected an external wi-fi USB to his computer and then the PC shut off with a smell of burning plastic.

It is a Coolmaster PSU so l am hoping that nothing else died with it. This is the first time l hear of a USB killing the PSU!
 
Isn't it more likely the board has gone? Why do you instantly suspect the PSU?
 
Has he had a look inside? If the smell is coming from the PSU I could understand his concern, but there is, as PiKe said, a possibility it may have been the motherboard instead.
 
Hopefully it is the mobo. It is only 1 week old since his last motherboard was slowly dying and got replaced.

Edit: After all it was the PSU. The strange part was that it didn't smelled bad when l got there(1 hour after the incident). In all the other cases of burnt PSUs the smell lasted days after they had kicked the bucket.
 
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