MY MONEY WAS STOLEN AND STEAM IS AN ACCOMPLICE OF THIEVES BECAUSE THEY PROFIT FROM EVERY 90-CENT DOTA 2 ITEM TRANSACTION

[Fredyjhs]

Today, I want to share a painful experience and open a debate that I consider vital for our security on the platform. I was robbed today—even though I own very valuable CS2 items, due to system vulnerabilities, I fell victim to a partial theft that resulted in a $10 loss from my Steam account. What angers me the most is that some thieves exploited the lack of additional authorization required for exchanging Dota 2 items—items that can be purchased for just 90 cents—while, luckily, my $20 skins, my $5 weapons, and my $2.15 crates remained untouched.

I can’t help but feel like crying when I think that Steam, by profiting from every transaction through its fee, seems to be on the side of these thieves. It’s unacceptable! It’s outrageous that, even with Steam Guard enabled, the security measures are insufficient to notify me of every action—even for purchases under a dollar. Personally, I have decided that until Steam Guard offers complete protection for every item, I will no longer invest any money in Steam. Just imagine: if I had my debit card linked, they would have stolen all of my real money by now.

Additional Details Regarding My Personal Security

Active Security Measures: I have Steam Guard activated, my email is fully secure (with no unauthorized logins), and I only access my account from verified devices. Additionally, my computer has a real-time antivirus installed, I use original Windows licenses, and everything is configured to minimize any vulnerability.

The Specific Flaw: The vulnerability lies in the purchase of items under $1, where the platform does not require additional authorization to complete the transaction. This exception allows thieves to operate undetected despite all the security measures I have in place.

The Apparent Complicity of Steam: What infuriates me is that, even though I’ve secured every aspect of my digital environment—from my operating system to my Steam account and email—Steam does nothing against these attacks. By keeping the thief’s username intact without sanctioning him, and profiting from every transaction, the platform appears to be complicit in these frauds. This negligence goes so far that, if I had my debit card linked, they would have stolen all my real money by now.

Let’s Open the Debate:

Has anyone else suffered similar losses and felt that the platform benefits from transactions that ultimately facilitate these thefts?

What measures do you believe should be implemented so that every transaction—even those of less than a dollar—triggers a security notification via Steam Guard?

In your opinion, is it fair for Steam to profit from these transactions, even when their security fails and puts our real money at risk?

I hope that together we can pressure Steam to take real measures and provide the protection we deserve as users. Let our voices be heard, and force improvements in a system that, so far, seems to favor thieves!

[Komarimaru]

Sadly, the only one to blame is yourself in this matter. You gave away your info at some point, or infected with malware to hijack a session token.

Valve quit returning items due to scammers exploiting the system.

This is why you shouldn't use third party sites etc. This is why you shouldn't download pirated software.

The above two are pretty much the only way to get a compromised account.

[datCookie]

The thieves benefited only from your own stupidity. Steam are not accomplices in these matters. It is up to you to keep your account secure and not give your information to anyone, which includes not entering your login details onto a 3rd party website, or clicking on suspicious links that download malware onto your computer.

You are responsible for your account.

Steam cannot protect you from yourself.

[Ben Lubar]

Well, count yourself lucky that you gave someone malicious full access to your account and all they did was take $10.

Maybe don't do that in the future.

[Thiesen]

How is Steam an accomplish if YOU handing over the keys to your house to some random tthief?

Since YOU probably visited a third party website to trade something and you used your Steam credentials to login to thatt website thereby allowinjg them to phish your infoprmation...

Or perhapd you think thatg car manufacturers should be held responsible for eventual car accidents??

[Glass Mother]

Oh boy, here we go again ...

*cracks knuckles*

#01. "MY MONEY WAS STOLEN" - No, it wasn't

Digital items are not money. Steam Market items are not fiat currency, and you cannot withdraw the money you "earn" from sales into your bank account. You can only use it within the Steam ecosystem. That already puts a big dent in the "I lost real money" claim. Even Valve itself states this explicitly: funds in your Steam Wallet are non-refundable and cannot be cashed out.

So, your beloved 90-cent Dota trinkets? They're not money. They're cosmetic collectibles. Losing them is annoying, maybe. But calling that theft is like crying because someone stole your Neopets in 2003. (Anybody remember them?)

#02. Steam is Not "Complicit" just because it profits from market transactions

Yes, Steam takes a cut from market transactions.

Usually around 15%. That's how they keep the servers running, prevent spam, and maintain the marketplace ecosystem. It's standard. Steam isn't running some evil cartel of cyber-thieves because they take 13 cents from your 90-cent ward skin.

Saying that profiting from transactions = complicity in theft is not only weird, it's ... yeah.

By that logic, eBay is complicit in every scam auction, PayPal is an accomplice in every chargeback fraud, and your credit card company is liable for every shady online store you buy from. That's not how responsibility works.

#03. "Steam Guard Failed Me" - Actually, you failed it

Steam Guard is not designed to send you a push notification every time a sub-$1 item is moved. That would be ridiculous. You'd be getting pinged every time someone tries to offload a worthless sticker or key. Steam applies stricter measures on large trades and sensitive account actions (like logins, password changes, or significant transactions) which makes sense.

More importantly, if someone accessed your account and made trades, the most likely explanation is that your credentials were compromised ... probably through phishing. Steam Guard only works if you don't give away your account info. So let's be honest: you either clicked a fake link, downloaded malware, or reused a password from some breach-ridden forum.

You say your OS is "fully licensed" and your antivirus is active?

That's nice and all, but antivirus doesn't stop social engineering. And Windows Defender is not going to save you from clicking on "get free stuff here!!!11"

#04. "If I Had My Debit Card Linked, I'd Have Lost Everything" - False.

No, you wouldn't have. Steam never charges your card without explicit purchase consent. The market and trades only use your Steam Wallet funds. You can't sell an item and have Steam directly transfer cash to your card.

It doesn't work that way. So even if your card were linked, the worst-case scenario is someone buying games or topping up wallet balance. And you'd see that in your bank alerts immediately.

There's also a delay before funds become available after adding them. If someone accessed your card via Steam, you could report the unauthorized transaction, get it reversed, and Steam would lock the account instantly due to a chargeback. (And that's a good thing!)

So no ... you would not have been cleaned out. That's fear-mongering.

#05. "I've Secured Every Aspect of My Digital Environment" - Doubt ...

People who brag about their cybersecurity hygiene are often the worst offenders. You might have an antivirus and "original Windows" but that doesn't stop you from falling for fake Discord login pages or dodgy tournament invites. The fact that someone accessed your account in any way at all strongly implies you made a mistake. You clicked something you shouldn't have. You trusted the wrong person.

Steam isn't magic. It can't save you from yourself.

#06. "Steam Lets Thieves Operate Without Sanctions" - Misleading.

Steam doesn't instantly ban people over trades. That's intentional. There are complex systems in place to review abuse patterns, trade history, IPs, and bot activity. Instant bans would just punish false positives and drive more players to ... uh ... complain ... like you.

Just yelling "Thief!" on a forum isn't it.

And yes, they do ban accounts, especially when there's a pattern of fraudulent activity. You're not being targeted by some vast conspiracy ... they're just not going to start burning accounts over your 90-cent ward skin.

#07. "We Deserve Protection for Every Item" - Man up!

No platform on earth notifies you of sub-dollar virtual item movements in real-time. Not Amazon, not eBay, not GOG, not ... ugh .... Epic. It's called reasonable security thresholds. You're expecting Steam to blow a siren every time you lose a cent? That's absurd.

The system prioritizes high-value assets, major login events, password changes, new device logins ... actual risk factors. If you want to be notified of every single movement under a dollar, then check your inventory manually like everyone else.

You're not entitled to a private security guard because your 89-cent immortal got moved.

This post is a complaint masquerading as advocacy. Steam is not perfect, but it's not an accomplice to crime because you lost ten bucks worth of digital glitter.

If you want real protection?

Don't reuse passwords.
Don't click suspicious links.
Use two-factor authentication through the app.
Stop trading with strangers.

And most of all: stop treating your Dota 2 inventory like a Swiss bank account.

Steam didn't light the match, and they sure as hell didn't warm their hands by the fire.

Steam didn't fail you.
You failed yourself ...

[davidb11]

Yeah, please don't get so upset you blame Steam for this.

[Chika Ogiue]

You were phished or otherwise socially engineered into giving away the keys to your account. No amount of AI generated text is going to change that.

If you haven't done so already (no, I'm not reading through all that AI generated waffle to check), do the following:

Do ALL of these. Every single one.

1. Scan for malware https://www.malwarebytes.com/
2. Check that the email and phone number on the Steam account are still yours
3. Deauthorize all other devices https://store.steampowered.com/twofactor/manage
4. Change passwords from a trusted/clean device
5. Generate new backup codes for your Mobile App https://store.steampowered.com/twofactor/manage
6. Revoke the API key https://steamcommunity.com/dev/apikey (there should be nothing in the APIKEY)
7. Make sure your steam recovery email account is secure

[Chronocide]

Originally posted by Tenebris:

But calling that theft is like crying because someone stole your Neopets in 2003. (Anybody remember them?)

I do! That was...wow, so long ago. I recall liking those.

[Princess Luna]

If you gave yout password to 3rd party or it was stolen then "STEAM IS AN ACCOMPLICE" is false

[sandokanski]

So, if you have one of those cinemas with a lobby, and you have to show your ticket to enter the lobby. And then you need to show your ticket again to enter the specific movie hall. But while you are in the lobby someone steals your ticket. And now you can't watch the move, the guards escort you out of the lobby. And you'll be blaming the cinema for building the lobby and calling them accomplice. I get it. Interesting idea.

[hunne]

Originally posted by Tenebris:

Digital items are not money. Steam Market items are not fiat currency, and you cannot withdraw the money you "earn" from sales into your bank account. You can only use it within the Steam ecosystem. That already puts a big dent in the "I lost real money" claim. Even Valve itself states this explicitly: funds in your Steam Wallet are non-refundable and cannot be cashed out.

say, I bought a game with a CC... then refund it... I´ve never gotten any real money back, only credit towards my steam wallet, despite Steam itself stating it is possible to refund to the original means of payment...
there´s your "I lost real money" on a golden platter... in conjucntion with the last quoted sentence from you...

hence why I also abstain from buying anything around here anymore

weirdly enough, e.g. Kraken can morph Cryptos to FIAT and vice versa easily... I honestly do not see that much difference to Steamwallet funds...

[xBCxRangers]

CS2 again. Man that game is bad news. Play COD or something.

[KRYPTOOOOO 777]

OOK

[Glass Mother]

Originally posted by Fredyjhs:

Has anyone else suffered similar losses

So, OP ... have you recovered from your loss yet?

[SpeedFreak1972]

This is like leaving your front door open and blaming the police for that your stuff was stolen