I really screwed up..

[spacetravelingcactus]

So a friend of mine talked me into buying a PC and steam account a couple of years ago.. he appears to have taken over the account after I spent $100s of dollars on games and really got into PC gaming... I've reported him to steam.. I didn't know it was a violation of the terms of service when I bought the account, which was made clear to me by doing a quick Google search on what to do when your someone who sells you a steam account takes it back over.. wondering what will likely come of this? I feel like such a fool.. :(

[Ogami]

Well, if he is the original owner of the account and can prove that by providing for example receipts for games bought on that account that precede yours, Steam will give the account to him and you lose all you invested in it. That is the risk if you buy an Steam account.
Of course if you can prove to Steam that he sold you the account its possible that the account gets suspended for that. But that would not help you either.
Your investment in that account is gone either way.

[spacetravelingcactus]

Hmm.. I do have physical copies of old steam gift cards and plenty of purchase history with credit and debit cards in my name.. Im not sure how I can prove it.. I think we might have discussed it on facebook.. but that was two years ago, could that even be considered proof though?

[Ogami]

Originally posted by spacetravelingcactus:

Hmm.. I do have physical copies of old steam gift cards and plenty of purchase history with credit and debit cards in my name.. Im not sure how I can prove it.. I think we might have discussed it on facebook.. but that was two years ago, could that even be considered proof though?

Well if you have logs of that conversation where he clearly states that he wants to sell you the account then that could help.
But like i said, the best you can hope for is getting the account suspended, which means you can never again activate or buy games on it. But it would still be in his posession since he is the original and only owner of the account according to Steam.
You were never the owner since its against the Steam TOS to sell an account.
So the chance that you will get back the account apart from your "friend" willingly giving it to you again is pretty much zero.

[spacetravelingcactus]

I'm thinking our conversation won't have specifics about the account name but ill look for it and attach it to my case regardless. Yeh, I'm okay with loosing the account, I mean I'm not but it is what it is. However.. if he gets to keep hundreds of dollars worth of games I payed for... Urghhh!

This guy has done broken into my house and been the biggest pain ever since I met him..

[Start_Running]

The wouldn't6 accept an external log of any stripe as evidence. Plain and simple. if his proof of ownership predates yours he gets the account and you and your payment methods As far as Steam is concerned. you're a hijacker that stole a dormant account.

[spacetravelingcactus]

Wow... This is devastating..

[Start_Running]

Originally posted by spacetravelingcactus:

Wow... This is devastating..

ANd this is why breaking rules is never a good idea.

[spacetravelingcactus]

Originally posted by Start_Running:

Originally posted by spacetravelingcactus:

Wow... This is devastating..

ANd this is why breaking rules is never a good idea.

It would seem your statement doesn't ring true for the person who stole my entire library..

[Start_Running]

Originally posted by spacetravelingcactus:

Originally posted by Start_Running:

ANd this is why breaking rules is never a good idea.

It would seem your statement doesn't ring true for the person who stole my entire library..

It wasn't directed at him. It was directed at you. You acted outside the rules and you are the one suffering for it.

[spacetravelingcactus]

My mistake. You said "never" which I took as you meant "never." You should have said, that's why you shouldn't break the rules.

Regardless, I explained myself already on the breaking of the terms of service, sorry for that which I did not know.. Thanks for the smug unnecessary lecture though.

[Start_Running]

Originally posted by spacetravelingcactus:

My mistake. You said "never" which I took as you meant "never." You should have said, that's why you shouldn't break the rules.

I said never and I meant never. These sorts of behaviours come back to haunt the perpetrator eventually. You just happened to get tapped by come-uppance before he did. Perhaps because you deserved it more.

Regardless, I explained myself already on the breaking of the terms of service, sorry for that which I did not know.. Thanks for the smug unnecessary lecture though.

So at no point in your years did you bother to read the SSA and the terms of service form the contract that is your account? That's ignorance. That's something one should avoid as well. And that I have reason to mention it and that you are in this situation are ample proof that you could stand to get the lecture a few more times.

I mean your friend got the money you paid him, , his account and all the games you purchased over that period. AT the very least you should have asked yourself if it was possible for him to take the account back from you.

[Gallifrey - CSSC Gaming Founder]

If it's a real life friend or acquaintance report the matter to the police (you got the PC too - I asume you knew the person). This is part of a tsunami of internet fraud that the police are combating. You could also sue him in the courts. And I'd also do a very thorough virus clean on the PC too.

And Start Running - I bet the percentage of people who read the SSA is under 5%.

S.x.

[wuddih]

Originally posted by gallifrey:

I bet the percentage of people who read the SSA is under 5%.

I bet the amount of officials who understand this situation and would actually take the time and ask the correct questions to pressure the culprit into handing out the account because of moral aspects - because by definition it is their account, not OPs - you can could count on one hand ... for the entire planet.

this is not something that the police is combating, that is 2 childrens fighting over a toy.

[Start_Running]

Originally posted by gallifrey:

If it's a real life friend or acquaintance report the matter to the police (you got the PC too - I asume you knew the person). This is part of a tsunami of internet fraud that the police are combating. You could also sue him in the courts. And I'd also do a very thorough virus clean on the PC too.

And Start Running - I bet the percentage of people who read the SSA is under 5%.

S.x.

How many people read it is irrelevant. Those that do read it and understand it are not the ones who find themselves in this sort of thing.

Let's face it. The friend can just claim that the account was stolen by the OP and he reclaimed it. So unless there's a signed receipt the law is going to side with the friend.

[XBL Laberbacke]

Originally posted by Start_Running:

So unless there's a signed receipt

Which doesn't count anyway since accounts can't be sold.