What can I do after I get scammed?

[AleGZ]

I have read Steam's article on this subject and I understand that there is basically no chance of me getting my items back, because of the item restoration policy being extensively abused for item duplication, which Steam no longer does, genuine victims of scam including myself cannot get our items back that way. However, I refuse to believe that those who take advantage of other people can get away so easily without punishment. Is there anything that Steam or the community can do to stop scamming, and spread awareness? Is it possible for the items to be frozen and untradable or marketable? I do not care what it is, or whether I get my inventory back or not, but something needs to happen to these criminals.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Trade Banned, acccount lock or account termination.

Those are the punishments for the guilty.

[ZanyScum]

You could use the law. I mean, walk to the police, make a crime report about fraud.
Force Valve to give the needed data to be able to sue the scammer.

But:
As much as I like Steam. Valve is NOT nice to people who use the law against bad people.

One company got review bombed and attacked, they used the law to stop that abuse, Valve stopped working together with that company.

So:
Don't use the law, Valve will not help you, they will punish you if you do it like a normal citizen. Your only chance seems to be to go unlawful. Learn hacking or buy the service of people who do it. This is not how it should be. But as long as Valve protects bad people and punishes people who follow the law...

[rakarth]

Originally posted by ZanyScum:

So:
Don't use the law, Valve will not help you, they will punish you if you do it like a normal citizen. Your only chance seems to be to go unlawful. Learn hacking or buy the service of people who do it. This is not how it should be. But as long as Valve protects bad people and punishes people who follow the law...

Do you really want your government, lawmakers, GAFAM and internet providers to chose for you and make you pay extra bills for any content you access on the internet? Valve don't protect bad people, they do everything they can to warn their customers and still... also Valve doesn't care if you take action, no the real problem is if administrations and courts get progressively flooded by that kind of dumb complaint cases over non existent items, the service will be terminated and everybody lose.

If you want to punish scammers, trading only here is a good start. Scammers and other "bad people" take advantage of the same freedom we enjoy on internet, it's like that since the beginning, WE are responsible of our acts and by acting responsibly maybe we can help to save net neutrality instead of accelerating its fall.

[Jerry]

Originally posted by rakarth:

the real problem is if administrations and courts get progressively flooded by that kind of dumb complaint cases over non existent items

The debate about idealistic value of an item beyond its material value is a long one, but one, that tends to be accepted by law. A painting harbors more value than that of the canvas, the colours and the time to paint (or reprint) it. A rare "collectors item" is more valuable than an almost identical replica. "Prestigious" materials like gold, silver and diamonds are sold significantly beyond their material value. Buying a Lamborghini is different from buying a VW Mini.

In all these cases, the part of the value, that is only based on ideas and nonexistent factors makes a significant part, that will be recognized by legal instances. And ultimately, digital items fall in the same category.
So if you see a difference between destroying a photocopy of a Duerer painting and destroying the original, you maybe should learn to accept, that fighting theft of nonmaterial possessions is not "dumb".

[ReBoot]

Originally posted by AlexGZA:

I have read Steam's article on this subject and I understand that there is basically no chance of me getting my items back, because of the item restoration policy being extensively abused for item duplication, which Steam no longer does, genuine victims of scam including myself cannot get our items back that way. However, I refuse to believe that those who take advantage of other people can get away so easily without punishment. Is there anything that Steam or the community can do to stop scamming, and spread awareness? Is it possible for the items to be frozen and untradable or marketable? I do not care what it is, or whether I get my inventory back or not, but something needs to happen to these criminals.

Well, the community could simply read to stop scamming. Steam warns you not to trade for promises and Steam explicitly warns you before you sending away your stuff AS A GIFT. You have to explicitly confirm gifing. So what the community could to to stop scammers and spread awareness would be simply to read the warnings that already exist.

[rakarth]

Originally posted by Jerry:

So if you see a difference between destroying a photocopy of a Duerer painting and destroying the original, you maybe should learn to accept, that fighting theft of nonmaterial possessions is not "dumb".

Yeah you're right that's not exactly what I tried to say. I'm still questioning myself about this economy... also people get scammed everyday while using different services and the law take care of them, so why not Steam users who lost items, you're right it's not dumb. It's just scams can easily be avoided and because you are free to trade outside of steam despite the warning, doesn't mean you can blame Valve to be on the side of the scammers, it's a bit exagerated...

We know scammers rarely get caught so for op: the best way to "punish" them is to stop falling in their scams. Of course I think people should go to police when they lost too much, but for everything? If the number of complaints become significant, and worse, come mostly from minors, one day a politician will look at it and choose the "best" option: steam market closed for the country, problem solved. Not impossible but it's only my opinion.

Originally posted by Jerry:

The debate about idealistic value of an item beyond its material value is a long one

Agreed! lol and I need more time I think to have a fair opinion. Cheers

[AleGZ]

I do feel that these scams on Steam should be comparable to fraud (offense), and should be taken much more seriously. Steam provides the platform for these scammers that allows them to identify vulnerable people, and escape with the profit much easier. The person who has scammed me seemed to have disappeared without a trace from Steam, possibly because he has blocked me. I do not know how Valve handles fraud, but it certainly seems like they do not want to take any legal action against these scammers because whatever the government proposes is likely to harm the current economy on Steam, and thus cutting Valve's profit, which they most definitely do not want.

[Heeby-Jeeby]

Valve does take these scams seriously. However, there is a lot more to it.

With the amount of users Steam has, I would take a guess and say hundreds of thousands if not millions of trades happen on a daily basis along with thousands of those being scams. Valve is not the gaming police. They don't have to authority to take "legal action" against anyone when it comes to scams besides banning accounts.

They took so many measures to try and keep people safe. Steam Guard, Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator (or as some like to call it: Authentificator), and endless prompts and confirmations.

Before a trade can take place, you have to confirm the trade multiple times and if you are giving things away, there are huge warnings which say something like "You are giving your items away and expect nothing in return. Yes or Cancel."

How much more do you want Valve to do? Should they have employees sitting next to users to hold their hands through every single trade?

If you live in the US and are scammed by someone in Poland, what is Valve supposed to do when you say "legal action"? Valve isn't going to report anyone to American or Polish police or help you sue anyone. Even you have to admit that would be completely ludicrous. If you wanted to get a lawyer and sue the user and have the lawyer subpoena information about the other person, that might be a way to go. But your lawyer fees are going to exceed what you lost in pixels.

There is so much information and safeguards when trading through the Steam platform, you really, really, really have to go out of your way to be scammed.

I'm sorry you got scammed. I know it sucks but going forward, you have to use the thing between your ears. You have to have some basic common sense and don't get blinded by greed. And most importantly, read the Recommended Trading Practices and Steam Trading articles in the knowledge base because it is clear you have not yet done so.

[Brujeira]

Originally posted by ZanyScum:

snip

You have a very different perspective of that whole situation - here's a counterpoint:

https://steamed.kotaku.com/digital-homicide-drops-18-million-lawsuit-against-stea-1787361452

As for avoiding scams... well, this.

Originally posted by Heeby-Jeeby:

I'm sorry you got scammed. I know it sucks but going forward, you have to use the thing between your ears. You have to have some basic common sense and don't get blinded by greed. And most importantly, read the Recommended Trading Practices and Steam Trading articles in the knowledge base because it is clear you have not yet done so.

I'd also add that you might want to develop a healthy dose of cynicism. Very few people trust big business, politicians or whoever else that you want to blame for the world's ills - however, it's perfectly OK to trust some anonymous random on the inetrnet who says that they'll give you money? Maybe not.

[ZanyScum]

Originally posted by Brujeira:

Originally posted by ZanyScum:

snip

You have a very different perspective of that whole situation - here's a counterpoint:

https://steamed.kotaku.com/digital-homicide-drops-18-million-lawsuit-against-stea-1787361452
[...]

I don't see a counterpoint.
Let me quote:

Originally posted by https://steamed.kotaku.com/digital-homicide-drops-18-million-lawsuit-against-stea-1787361452:

Make no mistake, though: while Digital Homicide probably didn’t deserve as much ♥♥♥♥ as they got, they were a toilet explosion.

So, the counterpointis, "they were a toilet explosion"?
Or where in that linked article do you find any counterpoint?

[Brujeira]

Originally posted by ZanyScum:

Originally posted by Brujeira:

You have a very different perspective of that whole situation - here's a counterpoint:

https://steamed.kotaku.com/digital-homicide-drops-18-million-lawsuit-against-stea-1787361452
[...]

I don't see a counterpoint.
Let me quote:

Originally posted by https://steamed.kotaku.com/digital-homicide-drops-18-million-lawsuit-against-stea-1787361452:

Make no mistake, though: while Digital Homicide probably didn’t deserve as much ♥♥♥♥ as they got, they were a toilet explosion.

So, the counterpointis, "they were a toilet explosion"?
Or where in that linked article do you find any counterpoint?

I'll not discuss this with you for too long as your support for those guys makes you look highly suspect - also, it would be derailing the thread too much. Come back when you're willing to discuss how they got themselves in that mess, and not before.

[AleGZ]

Originally posted by Heeby-Jeeby:

I'm sorry you got scammed. I know it sucks but going forward, you have to use the thing between your ears. You have to have some basic common sense and don't get blinded by greed. And most importantly, read the Recommended Trading Practices and Steam Trading articles in the knowledge base because it is clear you have not yet done so.

It is a very sad and unfortunate event for me. However I do suppose that there is a lesson to be learned from everything. Starting now I will always insist to trade in within Steam and avoid third party websites. After reading Steam's extensive article on trading, I was surprised by how much information was provided "https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3415-WAFH-6433". In the end, I can only conclude that I am the dumb one at fault for losing my items here, and there are people who will exploit the trust of others for their own profit. Fortunately for me, I have only lost a rather insignificant amount in terms of money, but it was still the fruit of hard earned trading which is the part that hits me the most. For the money lost here, I must say that the lesson learned was well worth it, and can help me do better in the future.