Scammed by someone pretending to be a STEAM representative

[Bill981]

Hi, my son was scammed by someone pretending to be a STEAM representative and I can't seem to be able to find a way to chat or communicate with them. Any suggestions? I have sent an email to Stream support and also tried the player support line with no help. Can anyone tell me where I can get some assistance with this? Unfortunately, he didn't realize he was being scammed. He was told his account was suspended and this agent would help him but instead took everything from his account.

[Mad Scientist]

There is no "player support line" which sounds like yet-another scam you fell for.

You report any Steam account pretending to be a mod/admin/employee/"representative", and let Steam Support handle it. You never click on things, give away items for "inspection", or go to weird sites. Nor do you link your Steam to discord, if it's discord accounts you report discord accounts to discord.

Lost items will not be returned. Account security is on the user.

Also, you should read Stickied Threads before posting in a section, so you clearly understand what the section is for;
https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/10/135507548120407092/

[Aachen]

This section is meant for ideas and suggestions related to the Steam client or services.

Items are not restored (see Item Restoration Policy).

[✨Saint✨]

Although I have certain difficulties believing this story, the forums are full of examples of people who got scammed, check them and you will see how to secure your account.
Your son wont get their items back.

[Bill981]

Thank you for you suggestion. So what i am gathering is that he won't get any of his items back. So, he just needs to move forward and not trade or interact with other people online he doesn't know. I guess it is a good life lesson for him not to trust anyone, especially someone pretending to be a Steam rep. Is there a normal protocol for Stream to contact you if there is an issue? Or do they never contact you? Just need to know so I can teach my son when to trust and when to not trust someone

[✨Saint✨]

Originalmente postado por Bill981:

Thank you for you suggestion. So what i am gathering is that he won't get any of his items back. So, he just needs to move forward and not trade or interact with other people online he doesn't know. I guess it is a good life lesson for him not to trust anyone, especially someone pretending to be a Steam rep. Is there a normal protocol for Stream to contact you if there is an issue? Or do they never contact you? Just need to know so I can teach my son when to trust and when to not trust someone

Never trust anyone, period. Stranger, danger. That is a parent's 101 lesson.

[Spawn of Totoro]

Originalmente postado por Bill981:

Is there a normal protocol for Stream to contact you if there is an issue? Or do they never contact you? Just need to know so I can teach my son when to trust and when to not trust someone

Support is only offered through the support ticket system. Support won't contact a user directly, nor is there anyway to contact them directly. Valve will never us discord or any other 3rd party program/service.

Support won't warn or discuss possible actions with a user. They will simply do said action (with evidence based on their logs, not user given) and the user will have to contact them to contest it. Most scam play on the fear that an account may have action taken, such as a ban or closure, and is how the scammer tricks the user into do what they want.

Here is a list of other, common scams you should go over with your son:
https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/70E6-991B-233B-A37B

Depending on your son't age, you may want to consider placing restrictions on the account using Steam Family View: https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/6B1A-66BE-E911-3D98

For my son, the only thing he has access to is the store, his profile and library. He doesn't know the password, nor have access to the authenticator for the account.

[Joke]

Steam will never contact you.

If there is an issue, you will have to contact Steam yourself via the Steam Support section under the Help menu (top left of steam client).

Steam has no email address where you can contact them, and no Discord or any other non-steam way to communicate with you.

Discord is popular among the young ones, but if anyone contacts you via Discord and claims to represent Steam then you can be 100% sure it's a scammer.

If someone puts a comment under your screenshot, artwork, profile etc. saying they have something important to say, "please add me", that is also a 100% sure beginning of a scam attempt.