steam keeps asking me to verify my e-mail address...WHY!?!?!

[TheDeadlyNeck]

over and over and OVER again it keeps asking me to verify my e-mail address. i do so and shortly afterwards it asks AGAIN. i have asked all my friends on steam and none of them have this problem...anybody else keep getting this??

[FFL2and3rocks]

Originally posted by FaTaL_G:

IF IT IS NOT MY ADDRESS ANYMORE, there's not much I'm going to be able to do about it!!!! Since I cannot access the email that Steam would be asking me to verify it with, and if Steam was to allow me to change the email without some bread crumb of confirming I am who I say I am, then they actually introduce LESS security.

A hijacker isn't going to gain access to your account and then do nothing with it except check every day for 6 months until they just happen to finally log into your account one day and see that notice before you do.

Originally posted by FaTaL_G:

If your email account is compromised, there's no security by asking you to confirm it is there? And if people have your email account hacked, then whats the first thing Steam is going to do when you (the hacker) intentionally click "FORGOT PASSWORD"? Send YOU an EMAIL to the EMAIL you have of file.

It's not about your email being hacked. It's about forgetting that your Steam account is tied to an email that you don't use anymore. Because then if you ever forget your password and need to reset it, you would have to bug support about it and send them proof that you're the owner.

[MadFurian]

Originally posted by kOnGe:

Originally posted by Xieso:

I recommend contacting steam support about this issue. Again, as stated above, it is critical to verify your e-mail, if you don't, your account can be comprimised and not gotten back. That means losing every game you've bought on Steam.

What a stupid comment. You really mean that Steam can deactivate my account because i don't verify my e-mail every month as they want?

I have also started to ignore this message as I am so sick of verifying my e-mail all the time. I don't change e-mail address FFS.

No that's not what that means at all. Getting your account compromised means someone hacking it. Not steam deactivating your account.

[FaTaL_G]

Originally posted by FFL2and3rocks:

Originally posted by FaTaL_G:

IF IT IS NOT MY ADDRESS ANYMORE, there's not much I'm going to be able to do about it!!!! Since I cannot access the email that Steam would be asking me to verify it with, and if Steam was to allow me to change the email without some bread crumb of confirming I am who I say I am, then they actually introduce LESS security.

A hijacker isn't going to gain access to your account and then do nothing with it except check every day for 6 months until they just happen to finally log into your account one day and see that notice before you do.

Originally posted by FaTaL_G:

If your email account is compromised, there's no security by asking you to confirm it is there? And if people have your email account hacked, then whats the first thing Steam is going to do when you (the hacker) intentionally click "FORGOT PASSWORD"? Send YOU an EMAIL to the EMAIL you have of file.

It's not about your email being hacked. It's about forgetting that your Steam account is tied to an email that you don't use anymore. Because then if you ever forget your password and need to reset it, you would have to bug support about it and send them proof that you're the owner.

Both of your quote responses above show that you have not thought this through. No more-so than Steam has. This policy serves no actual purpose AT ALL, other than to annoy.

#1 response: It does not matter *WHEN* or *HOW* or even *IF* a hacker gains access to your email account. If they actually KNOW you have a steam account or have an approach of attack then they can reset and steal the account immediately. Therefore reliance on Email is weak and pointless. If the hacker hacks your STEAM account, well - they already have access to your Steam, but, now Steam will want you to sign in with the hackers "new" computer for example, THAT has a level of security. Especially if they DON'T have your email address (at all). If the hacker could change your email address via a method to state in essence "no that is not my email anymore" then you just gave them a door to also take over the account. THUS, relying on "is this still your email" is as pointless or dangerous as answering the phone and telling the caller your name and some other piece of personal information. There's < 0 security added, its just a nuisance, and in fact it potentially opens the door for other attack vectors.

Considering the number of online communities, web forums, banks, investment companies, and the various DoD documentation geared towards data & account security, you'll notice STEAM is in the minority. In fact, I believe Steam is the only one that does this. It is pointless.

And #2:
If you "don't use the email address anymore" and you forget your password to Steam, you are screwed.You'll have to remember an email address password to an account you no longer use. Apparently when you move you don't file a change of address? (I.e., update your accounts with new addresses before you "lose access")? For example, you use a school email, and don't play steam for a few years, you come back to it, and get this message because you weren't mindful to detach Steam from that account. perhaps the school has now re-used that address for someone with the same name. I promise you it happens. Anyways... So you cease using an email address that is the main email linked to your all super important Steam account and now what? I mean, "once you no longer use it" for whatever reason, it's kinda too late to ask you to verify it. Thus you'll have to start jumping through the hoops to get it changed. Guess what? If they didn't pester you about it, and the email account isn't compromised and you no longer have access to it, then you're going to have to jump through those hoops regardless in order to regain access/change it to a new address. THUS..... asking me "do you still live here" is nothing more than an annoyance.

[Raelarial]

and that's why i have two step verification, i immediatly get notified then a code pops in, if i didn't use a different computer I immediatly delete the file

[(ArchAngel) Valkyrie]

I have had to verify my email multiple times and I have not changed my email for over 8 years. It has gotten to a point where I am asked by Steam to verify my email address every few days and I do not know why? So Just today I started a log. I verified my email today on 2/21/2018 and I am going to document just how long it takes for steam to prompt me to verify my email again. From past experiences it usually takes less than a month, so I expect to be prompted by Steam again within about 12 to 30 days.

[MrThePlague]

Is there ever going to be a response from Steam? Every other day, "Verify your email."
Whisky
Tango
Foxtrot

[sanity]

I've had a notification on my Steam 'is this your email....' and when I press yes and try to get an email sent I dont get an email. But when I check my account status it says that my account is verified.

I've tried to google it but all I can find is that I need to add 'steamsupport' or something like that as an contact, which is not an option on gmail.

Anybody got any tips, since the Steam help doesn't solve it?

edit: I get all receipts from steam sent to that same email, so I really can't understand why I dont receive the confirmation email.

[FuLL AuT0]

Wow, I did a google search because I'm getting fed up with constantly having to verify my e-mail (or at least being prompted to as I stopped bothering after the 4th or 5th attempt to resolve the message in as many days) and I can't believe this has been happening to folks for close to a year now! Seriously, great points have been made about the ineffectiveness of e-mail verification in this thread and it's laughable that these devs have apparently done nothing to correct this very annoying bug.

Please fix it hurts my gaming soul.

[JPMcMillen]

First off, if Steam keeps asking you to verify your email address it sounds like after you click yes, you aren't going to that email, opeing up the message from Steam, and clicking the link that will confirm that it is indeed your email. The reason you have to do this is that there are too many Steam users that would just click 'yes', even when they needed to change it, but couldn't be bothered to do it right then. Those people would then forget to update it and if they ever forgot their password, they couldn't use the automated password recovery because they no longer had access to the email for their account. So they would have to waste both Valve's and their own time getting it fixed. This isn't about getting hacked, it's about people not being able to log in because they forgot their password.

Second, Valve is not the only company that asks it's users to verify their contact information from time to time. My bank does it, credit card companies, even PayPal. The main difference is that people are a lot more likely to update that information right away with their financial institutions. Too many Steam users have proven that if you don't force them to take care of stuff like this, they will ignore it which could lead to bigger problems down the line. This is also why Valve won't let people opt-out of these reminders, because the people most likely to turn them off are the ones most likely to be filing support tickets after they forget their password because they didn't update their email address.

Originally posted by sanity:

I've tried to google it but all I can find is that I need to add 'steamsupport' or something like that as an contact, which is not an option on gmail.

Try adding a filter to send anything from 'steampowered.com' to whatever folder you put emails from Steam in.

[FaTaL_G]

Originally posted by JPMcMillen:

First off, if Steam keeps asking you to verify your email address it sounds like after you click yes, you aren't going to that email, opeing up the message from Steam, and clicking the link that will confirm that it is indeed your email. The reason you have to do this is that there are too many Steam users that would just click 'yes', even when they needed to change it, but couldn't be bothered to do it right then. Those people would then forget to update it and if they ever forgot their password, they couldn't use the automated password recovery because they no longer had access to the email for their account. So they would have to waste both Valve's and their own time getting it fixed. This isn't about getting hacked, it's about people not being able to log in because they forgot their password.

Second, Valve is not the only company that asks it's users to verify their contact information from time to time. My bank does it, credit card companies, even PayPal. The main difference is that people are a lot more likely to update that information right away with their financial institutions. Too many Steam users have proven that if you don't force them to take care of stuff like this, they will ignore it which could lead to bigger problems down the line. This is also why Valve won't let people opt-out of these reminders, because the people most likely to turn them off are the ones most likely to be filing support tickets after they forget their password because they didn't update their email address.

Originally posted by sanity:

I've tried to google it but all I can find is that I need to add 'steamsupport' or something like that as an contact, which is not an option on gmail.

Try adding a filter to send anything from 'steampowered.com' to whatever folder you put emails from Steam in.

While this could be true for some people, others of us type FULL sentences of what we have tried. So when people postualte like you just did, it's frustrating. I'm sure it frustrates you as well when you call tech support and ask for help, they ask a question, you answer, and then 2 minutes later they ask you for something you already told them. Anyways, let me ensure you, I have verified numerous times over the YEARS and it DOES NOT make STEAM stop doing this.

This forum is supposed to be STEAMs support area, but clearly they wont address this even though I and others have pointed out how this is not added security, in fact, it is worse than added security. It degrades security.

[Forcen]

Say what you want about email verification but the part where the client asks you to do it too often might be a bug with the client.
Anyone here who has this issue and use steam regularly on more than one computer, do you get the message on both computers at the same time?

Try fixing that bug by doing the quick reinstall as described here: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3352-RYON-4107
It will not uninstall any games if you do what the instructions says.
Quick thing to try, worth a shot. If it stops asking you then don't forget to come back to the thread and report back that it worked.

That's the problem with solving bugs like these that if it takes time to notice the absence of a problem then you might forget it and won't report it.

[zaphod]

I have verified it many times. each time i DO get the email, and I DO click the link, and it says i'm verified. but within a week steam is asking me if it's still my email address again. in the client.

[Often]

Verify your email adress again then start steam up again that should work

[Silicon Vampire]

Pretty sure there is a cookie that, when deleted, causes this. Stop clearing your cookies.

[Often]

OK