How to Prevent your Account from Getting Hacked

[Mr. Hemlock]

Seeing as how there has been a constant flow of people talking about how they've lost items, their account, access to their email, as well as a whole slew of other problems regarding their account security, I figured it couldn't hurt to give some sort of little guide of tips to help keep your account your own.

I hope this guide is helpful, and if anyone has anything to add, please feel free to discuss it and tell me what I missed! The more tips and help that the community offers to each other, the safer we will all be!

Steam and You: A Guide to Keep Yourself Safe

The Basics

Here are some basic tips that apply to safety all over the internet, not just on Steam.

1. Never give your password out.
   
   "Well duh, Hemlock. Obviously I'm not going to give my password out!" Intentionally? Well no, I certainly hope that you don't. Obviously you never, ever want to give you password to anyone in a Steam message, and you don't want to give it out in an e-mail either. Steam Support will never ask for your password. They have other methods to verify that you are who you are. However, this doesn't just apply internally to Steam, which brings me to my second point.
   
   
2. Never enter your Steam account anywhere other than on the official Steam website, the official Steam Client, or on the official Steam Mobile app.
   
   This is where things can start to get trickier, and phishers and hackers have started to get a little bit more clever in a terrible kind of way. There are links from sites that send you to an official looking Steam login page. I say official looking, because there are still ways to find out whether they are real or not.
   
   1. If you don't see "https://" at the beginning of the web address, as well as the lock showing that it is a secure connection, do NOT enter you username or your password. It's not an Official Site, and you risk someone else getting their hands on your account but putting any information in there.
   
   2. If there's an "https://" but something still feels off, just don't log in. If you're looking for information or confirmation about a site, come to the forum and ask the community. They're always here, and always willing to help.
   
   
3. There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
   
   This is an old adage, but it hasn't lost its meaning. You don't get something for free. If you think it's too good to be true, it probably is. As I said, "Free items, free skill points, we'll level you up!" are all very common and very easy to fall for scams. Steer clear of these, and you'll do just fine.

And now for a little detour into the land of trading, and the problems people seem to be having there.

Trading and You: How Being Smart Can Keep Your Items Safe


Currently, there are only two ways to acquire items for games, other than earning them or opening crates. Using the Steam Marketplace, and Steam's internal trading systems. Here are some things to look out for when trying to get those items that you want.

1. Unless you are using the Steam Marketplace, never use real life money to try and get items.
   
   This one seems to come up every now and then, but it still happens often enough that people really need to be aware of what's going on. There are two huge issues with exchanging money for items outside of the Marketplace.
   
   1. Valve does not condone buying items or selling gift copies of games outside of the use of the Marketplace.
   
   This is to prevent people from getting scammed. Seeing as they can't track what doesn't go through there system, there is no way for them to really help you if you get your credit card AND your rare items jacked from you.
   
   2. You'll be putting your Steam id and your Credit Card in danger.
   
   As stated in the last point, you'll only have yourself to blame if you don't buy things through the proper channels.
   
   
2. Be very careful who you're trading with and how you're trading
   
   For those of us old enough to remember Popeye, he had a friend who would always say, "I shall pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." Needless to say, he never payed up. If you've got someone offering you a trade for something, and they say they'll get you the payment or the item you want later, I'd be very skeptical to say the least.
   
   Also, just because someone has lots of "+rep" does not mean that they are safe to trade with. It's pretty easy to have other scammers or fake accounts comment on your page with a "+rep" comment. Investigate possible traders with sites like https://steamrep.com/ , where you can see what their ACTUAL Steam reputation is. If something feels even the slightest bit off, don't go through with the trade. It's better to wait getting that item than to lose everything, right?

And now for a quick comment about Steam Support.

Currently, they are overloaded to an extreme. That means wait times can be anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. If you've lost your account, be patient, and they will do everything they can for you. Regarding lost items, I would just try to pick up and move on. There isn't much that they can do for you there.

Last thing I'm going to say is that prevention is your greatest defense. Steam Support is a great service, and they're more than happy to serve the community, but you can keep from ever having to ask for their aid by making sure that you're smart and safe on the internet.


I hope this little guide is helpful, and if you have any other tips or suggestions, please feel free to add them to this discussion! We have to keep ourselves safe in a time of phishers and scammers.

[Silicon Vampire]

Intention appreciated but who do you think will read this BEFORE they need it?

[Mr. Hemlock]

Oh I know it, but where else am I supposed to put this, you know? If I had put this in Steam Discussions or Steam Community it would have gotten scooted over here, you know? More just trying to help out in whatever little ways I can.

[Ogami]

Extra short version: "Use Common Sense".

[Mr. Hemlock]

True, but with how many people claim that they're getting hacked, it's kind of obvious they're not using common sense. I just thought it was a nice gesture to take the time to write this, that's all.

[Mjölgineer]

Well made and should be read by every new user.

[Muppet among Puppets]

Those people dont even read the facts of what they are about to do.
And thats each time a oneliner.

But well done with generalized headlines.

[Mr. Hemlock]

I appreciate the feedback. I do feel like I'm missing something things, or there's other sections that need to be fleshed out. I guess my overall hope was that this would get stickied so that people would read it, but again, I doubt anyone would. It was just something to do while I was taking a break to work.

[O(P)Kruszek]

Originally posted by WMD Lord Hemlock:

I appreciate the feedback. I do feel like I'm missing something things, or there's other sections that need to be fleshed out. I guess my overall hope was that this would get stickied so that people would read it, but again, I doubt anyone would. It was just something to do while I was taking a break to work.

There are already pinned threads... That no one is reading. Common sense is lacking mostly for Steam users and though the topic is appreciated... No one will read it - before it's too late.

[Muppet among Puppets]

Originally posted by WMD Lord Hemlock:

I do feel like I'm missing something things,

Thats the problem. You cant cover all possible forms of traps.
Its sometimes better to just generalize the concept of traps being there.

[Mr. Hemlock]

Ah well.. Guess it's best to just let it die then. Thanks for those of you who did read it.

[O(P)Kruszek]

Originally posted by WMD Lord Hemlock:

Ah well.. Guess it's best to just let it die then. Thanks for those of you who did read it.

Don't let it die, just make it... I don't know, on a blog? Better chance to survive and get searched. Also you can work on it so don't give up on it - just not on Steam discussions

[Mr. Hemlock]

I kind of think there's even less potential for anyone to bother searching for something like this, but I suppose it might be worth doing.