how to verify if a steam key is legit?

[Bello Sgabello]

everybody knows there are third party sites, like kinguin, which sell steam cd keys, often shady.
once it's activated on steam i suppose a key is "legit" , am i right?
is there a way to verify if your key you entered is legit and not generated by a pirate seller?
is buying keys from kinguin illegal for steam's user terms?
also, after how much time at best could steam revoke a pirated key?

[Jerry]

I have not heard about pirated keys so far, so I do not think, it is much of an issue. There are of course other risks, that come with using whatever sitename was removed there for good reasons. Outside the obvious case, that keys simple were activated already, which you already covered, it would be possible, that a key gets revoked later by the publisher of the game, who often is not happy about resales of this kind. Also there is always the risk of an account takeover by the seller. And of course, the site could contain any kind of malware or try to sneak out your data in other ways.

Valve itself does not really care. The option to create keys is given to every publisher, and through which ways these keys reach their players does not matter in the end. It is not recommended to use sites of this kind, but it is not punishable either.

[WarmedxMints]

If steam censor the site on their forums, then that is a good sign that you should not purchse from them.

Personally I trust only a few sites who sell steam keys. https://www.humblebundle.com/, https://www.greenmangaming.com/, https://www.greenmangaming.com/ and https://www.fanatical.com/en/.

[Cathulhu]

You can find trustworthy and authorized resellers on http://isthereanydeal.com

[PPL]

okay so...

use most popular sites to buy keys

keys are sold by pirate sellers but there are normal sellers too

keys CANT be revoked after you activate them on your acc so nobody can steal your game


so even if its pirated...by that I mean dude stole codes from dev or something because nobody can make steam keys that isnt guy who worked on game so watch for most trusted sites and user reviews on sellers ( like has over 10k keys sold overall rather the someone with 5)

never got scammed or anything in my 5 years of use
steam says its against the rules to sell keys but they dont care if thats done over 3rd party site..only on steam is permitted

[Cathulhu]

Originally posted by The Doctor:

keys CANT be revoked after you activate them on your acc so nobody can steal your game

Actually, that is very possible. And happens frequently.

Steam even has a support article about it:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=2697-RADF-7188&

[Hanomaly]

Originally posted by The Doctor:

okay so...
keys CANT be revoked after you activate them on your acc so nobody can steal your game

Keys can definitely be revoked after they are activated on your account. Sometimes even weeks later.. or more they can be revoked. Buying from a shady site, and having the key activated is *no* guarentee you won't lose the key in the coming days or weeks.

[PPL]

Originally posted by Cathulhu:

Originally posted by The Doctor:

keys CANT be revoked after you activate them on your acc so nobody can steal your game

Actually, that is very possible. And happens frequently.

Steam even has a support article about it:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=2697-RADF-7188&

beta . alpha. delta haha

not full games

only dev can take that with good reason to take it off

so ....

[Hanomaly]

Originally posted by The Doctor:

Originally posted by Cathulhu:

Actually, that is very possible. And happens frequently.

Steam even has a support article about it:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=2697-RADF-7188&

beta . alpha. delta haha

not full games

only dev can take that with good reason to take it off

so ....

Assuming i understand you correctly, You are incorrect.

If you buy illegitimate keys that were obtained from the devs/publishers in a shady way, they can and will absolutely revoke keys for FULL games. It is not just alpha-key or beta-keys revoked.. but keys for full games that were obtained through unauthorised resellers can and have been absolutely revoked.

So only buy from authorised resellers, which are listed on http://isthereanydeal.com if you're looking for a deal from a legitimate site.

[Cathulhu]

or if the publisher determines that the CD Key itself had been obtained by fraudulent means.

You really should learn to read a full paragraph before you answer with complete nonsense.

And yes, Developers and Publishers can revoke games. Doesn't matter if beta or full game. If it was stolen or gained through fraudulent means, it gets revoked. Simple as that. People don't like stealing and buying from fences who sell stolen goods doesn't make you innocent.

[Bello Sgabello]

Originally posted by Jerry:

I have not heard about pirated keys so far, so I do not think, it is much of an issue. There are of course other risks, that come with using whatever sitename was removed there for good reasons. Outside the obvious case, that keys simple were activated already, which you already covered, it would be possible, that a key gets revoked later by the publisher of the game, who often is not happy about resales of this kind. Also there is always the risk of an account takeover by the seller. And of course, the site could contain any kind of malware or try to sneak out your data in other ways.

Valve itself does not really care. The option to create keys is given to every publisher, and through which ways these keys reach their players does not matter in the end. It is not recommended to use sites of this kind, but it is not punishable either.

those shady sites also resell key licenses for antivirus softwares, and they are pirated keys generated over the software algorhtym

[Cathulhu]

That's a common myth. Any developer capable enough knows how to keep a database of keys they generated, so any that fits into the algorithm used but isn't in the database gets rejected.