How to report malicious links

So one day you go to your favorite Steam group to check up on what's happening, then you notice in the comments and the discussions there are people advertising "FREE $20 CSGO SITE, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, NO DEPOSIT!!!". Followed by an ominous link, probably ending in RU.

Being the competent Steam user, you know it's an obvious scam, but you are not too sure how to deal with them. Fine admins can ban them from the group but they will always find a new place to advertise, and you want to help give these bad characters the punishment they deserve. They are ways to help combat them, and i'm here to tell you how.

Step 1: Do NOT click the link!

If you see an obvious phishing link, do not click on it, at all, period! Yeah most times clicking on it will not download a virus or create a backdoor on your PC and will just direct you to the shady site. But with phishing links you can never truly know, so it's best not to take the risk.

Step 2: Report the user to the proper mods/admins (Steam groups only)

If you come across suspicious links in Steam groups, which are the most common place to see these scams in action, try to get a hold of a group admin or moderator ASAP so they can be banned. If they are banned that means the scammer has 1 less place to advertise their fake sites and have to take their business somewhere else. (Example below)


Do not ignore it, the longer they go unreported the more dangerous they become.


Unfortunately, a lot of groups where scammers advertise are ones that have more or less been abandoned. As in the admin/creator has been offline for many days/months/years. So action can not be taken, if a mod/admin is not available just skip this step.

Step 3: Contact a Steam Community Moderator

Community moderators can add a link found to be dangerous to a blacklist, so when ever they are posted the link will not be displayed. Instead replaced a little {LINK REMOVED} message.

Though there are many mods you can report links to, Ianskate is the go-to man for getting shady links filtered out. I myself go to him whenever I find some links in need of blocking. He's even legally changed his middle name to {LINK REMOVED} ;)
http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197961963491
Here, i've even made a template for you to use when reporting scam links.

"Hey Ian, I have some links for you to filter, thanks a lot."
- Insert link(s)
- Insert who or where you got it from

Step 4: Report the user on their profile

Now that you have the link waiting to be filtered, report the user advertising the fake sites.

1 - Go to user's profile
2 - Click on "More"
3 - Click "Report Violation"
4 - Select the reason for reporting. In this case "Spamming Advertisements/Links"
5 - Fill out the evidence box, then click "Submit Report"
6 - Profit?

Congratulations, you did your part in keeping the mean Steam streets clean. Eventually your crook should have a trade ban making sure that account can not get someone's items. Setting back the scammer all they way to step 1.

Does getting these links blocked actually help?

Yes. Yes it does. Scammers spend a lot of money buying and setting up fake websites, if a link is blocked on Steam. They will have to buy another domain and set up a new website so they can advertise again.

A tactic used by these scammers are to just create many many websites so they can just swap links the moment one gets filtered. Even though scammers make possibly millions of dollars from stolen items, it still hurts them when they have to keep buying domains over and over.

Other links you can report.

Links to fake gambling sites are not the only ones that you can report.

- Pirated games/cracks
- Links to cheats
- Fake Steam pages
- Fake trade links
- Porn/other NSFW links (No need to report a user but getting it filtered is good enough)
These are some of the other links you can find floating about the community. And they also need to be reported when spotted. Fake Steam links are especially the scariest to find for they can contain the most minuscule difference in the naming that tricks less educated users and gains their account info by logging into a fake Steam page.

That's it

It's that easy to help the Steam community and to do your part. I hope you found this guide helpful. All constructive criticism is welcomed and I may make edits as needed.

BTW There is also a group where many come together to report and filter suscpicious links.
- http://steamcommunity.com/groups/ScamURL
Go hit them up and join the battle!

Thank you for reading, have a very nice day, night, or afternoon. =)

[◥ὦɧ◤SeDoY࿐]

RUS: Выберите что то одно из этого списка и напишите в моём профиле, отвечу тем же!
ENG:Choose the one that's on the list and write in my profile, I will answer the same!
-rep
-rep toxic
-rep aim
-rep cheater
-rep wh aim
-rep retard
-rep Fucking hacker
-rep Wallhacker
-rep VAC coming ruski idiot
-rep SOSAT

[Comedor de Sordy]

sejnsaeiojas

[dwu]

great

[ruble]

10/10 would get scammed again

[RS | ✪Dexter2k✪]

FREE SKINS!!!!!
JUST ENTER THIS CODE: EZSCAM
ON SITE: {LINK REMOVED}www.notscam100%.com
AND GET 10000000000000000000000000000000$ ON YOUR BALANCE
OPEN CASE AND GET FREE SKINS
FOR WITHDRAW, YOU NEED ONLY HAVE SEX WITH COW AND SELL A KIDNEY OF YOUR MOTHER
EZ SKINS EZ PROFIT

[brz.]

thanks

[Freem@n]

ofc :)

[kenopsia]

Always tell a trusted adult.

[Shadestode]

+rep

[Swap Commends]

great
thanks