Scam Prevention Guide

An overview of various scam methods and ways to prevent them from happening to you.

Welcome

This guide which will cover various methods of scamming (or scam related), from basic to more complex. Please be aware that this does not cover all methods possible.

It is highly recommended to give each section a thorough read, regardless if you are an experienced trader or opens cases for fun.

General Guidance

An important note is you should never share your email and phone number, as these can be used to recover your account, as well as hijack.


If you are unsure who someone is (when doing a cash trade), ask others - otherwise, you are better being safe than taking a risk. Twitter, twitch streams and discords, are good places to ask if someone is legitimate or not. Ensure people who are vouching are also reputable.


On twitter, legitimate traders are more than often followed by other legitimate traders. A user with 3000 followers, and not followed by any legitimate trader shouldn't really be trusted. Follower counts don't really matter, it is more about who is following.


Never make deals when you are tired or in a rush - this will eventually lead to a mistake.


If you feel uncomfortable or uncertain when making a trade, you are not obliged to continue through with it. However, you shouldn't waste the time of legitimate users.


Steam levels do not dictate if a user is legitimate or not. It is easy to buy high-level steam accounts for cheap - usually as a result of them being hacked (or phished).


Only stick to trading with items from games that you have knowledge and experience on.

Useful Resources

Applications:

✔️ Steam Two-Factor Authentication - https://store.steampowered.com/twofactor/manage :

• Should be the bare minimum level of security for all users.
  
  
• Enabled in the steam mobile app, which allows you to confirm trades instantly, and removes the 7 day/15 day tradehold when sending items (after having it enabled for 7 days).
  
  
• This also allows you to verify steam level, displayed badge and friend status easily, prior to confirming any trade.

✔️ Steam Family View - https://store.steampowered.com/parental/set :

• An additional security method which requires a pin to access specific parts of your steam account (which you choose - for example; specific games, 'Steam store', 'Community-generated content', 'Friends, chat and groups' and 'My online profile, screenshots and achievements').
  
  
• Enabled via the steam browser. The options you select are what you can access without entering the pin. It is a good idea to only tick 'Friends, chat and groups' for the Online content & features section.
  
  
• Note that the 'Community-generated content' includes modifying the API key and the steam market access. You also cannot send trade offers via the use of an API key if the ''My online profile, screenshots and achievements' option is not ticked.
  
  
• Whenever you relog into steam or relaunch steam app, you will need to re-enter the pin to access the family view locked content.

Websites:

✔️ STEAMREP - https://steamrep.com :

• A manual method in checking a users special reputation - for example: a scammer.
  
  
• Users classed as a scammer will have a ban status applied on their account. To obtain a ban, evidence beyond a reasonable doubt must be provided to confirm the user has scammed or has attempted to scam.

✔️ CSGO-REP - https://csgo-rep.com :

• A website which allows you to view cash trade history of a user. Note that these must be manually input by the other party (not the owner of the account), and fake comments are possible.

❗❗❗ Please note, as of 21st Sept 2022, there has been a fake csgo-rep site which ends in org. The real site ends in .com. ❗❗❗


✔️ Twitter - https://twitter.com :

• Asking the twitter community is very useful. In most cases, at least a few people are able to identify individuals and advise you of their status (such as a trusted trade, scammer, etc.).
  
  
• Ensure that positive comments about the user are from trusted sources. You should always provide their steam profile link, and their twitter profile link at the very least - along with some brief information about what you are planning to do (e.g. a trade, cash trade). Most, if not all, reputable traders will have a twitter account.

✔️ CSGOStash - https://csgostash.com :

• Useful for viewing item information such as an items float range, steam market listings and quick inspecting via inventory page.

✔️ Broskins Fade Pattern Checker - https://broskins.com/index.php?pages/fade_checker :

• A useful site in getting a general fade percentage.
  
  
• The fade percentage range is between 80% and 100%. Items which are close to either range yields overpay (mentioned in the 'Know Your Items' Worth' section). Fades close to 100% typically yield more overpay than fades close to 80%.
  
  
• It is recommended to use BUFF163, and search your pattern ID, as it gives a more accurate fade % (to 1 decimal place) - broskins rounds to the nearest whole number.

Extensions:

✔️ CSGO Trader - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/csgo-trader-steam-trading/kaibcgikagnkfgjnibflebpldakfhfih?hl=en :

• Automatically obtains the float and pattern number of items (including classifying doppler phases).
  
  
• Highlights time remaining on tradelocked items.
  
  
• Adds coloured backgrounds to items based on their rarity.
  
  
• Adds an instant and quicksell button.
  
  
• Allows you to obtain item screenshots of the playside and backside of items in any inventory.
  
  
• Allows you to directly join the broskins item inspect server, and provides you a !gen link to spawn the item ingame to use on the server.
  
  
• Allows you to view your inventory by price, float, name, tradelock time, alphabetical and sticker price.
  
  
• Provides a rough estimate of item and inventory value based off various sites.
  
  
• When configured, can automatically handle friend requests and incoming trades.

✔️ Steam Inventory Helper - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/steam-inventory-helper/cmeakgjggjdlcpncigglobpjbkabhmjl?hl=en :

• Provides you with the ability to obtain the float of an item without inspecting ingame.
  
  
• Highlights time remaining on tradelocked items.
  
  
• Adds coloured borders to items based on their rarity.
  
  
• Adds a quicksell button (which by default, lists the items by 1 unit currency below the lowest market listing.
  
  
• Adds a mass listing option, rather than manually selecting each item and its list price (extremely useful for selling cases, capsules, etc.).
  
  
• Allows you to view your inventory by price, float, name or tradelock time.
  
  
• Provides a rough estimate of item and inventory value based off various sites.
  
  
• Eliminates the need to manually check steamrep. Users who have been banned by steamrep will change the profile background to highlight this. An image is shown below.

✔️ CSGOFloat Market Checker - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/csgofloat-market-checker/jjicbefpemnphinccgikpdaagjebbnhg?hl=en :

• Automatically obtains the float and pattern number of items (including classifying doppler phases).
  
  
• Allows you to obtain item screenshots of the playside and backside of items that are listed on the steam community market.
  
  
• Allows you to increase the number of item listings on a single page to 25, 50 or 100, on the steam community market, and sort them based off float values on that page.

Common Red Flags

Before adding anyone, check if they have:

• Private inventory.
  
• Private friends list.
  
• Private comments.

If the answer is yes to any of these, you should be vigilant in any offers they make.


If they have any of the following:

• Private profile.
  
• Default profile picture.
  
• No CS items.
  
• Trade banned.
  
• Community banned.
  
• SteamID profile name.

It is very likely they are a scammer, and should take extra precaution and seek guidance from others (if you are less experienced).


Mentioned in the 'Useful Resources" section, are 2 reputation websites, steamrep and csgo-rep. There also exists fake reputation websites, so any others that a user asks you to check should not be taken as proof of legitimacy.


The following comments shown below are generic scammer comments, which can get you
to add them and direct you to a phishing link (mentioned later). You should never add users who comment these, nor click on any links sent by them. It is suggested to block and report these users, as well as removing their comment.




Finally, users who also have the following profile description shown below are very common scam accounts.

Know Your Items' Worth

If an offer seems too good to be true, it most likely is. All cash traders will base their prices using BUFF163. Typical percentages that people would offer on skins start as low as 86% and reach as high as 97% depending on its liquidity (how easy it is to turn the item into cash). If anyone exceeds 100%, this should raise red flags.


Know the true value of your skins. There are many factors which can influence its price. Ensure when getting items price checked, that you seek various opinions from reputable users. Most (if not all) evaluations will be given as cash price (the value you will be able to get for real money).


Make sure to check your items' following:

✔️ Pattern:

Some knives and guns can feature patterns which yield varying amount of overpay. There are plenty of guides which talk about patterns.

• Patterns which can yield significant overpay are (but not limited to):
  
  
  1. Case hardened - Tier 1 blue gems (such as #661 and #670).
     
     
  2. Doppler knives - emeralds, sapphires, rubies.
     
     
  3. Marble fade knives - fire and ice 1st to 3rd max.
     
     
  4. Clean knuckles (or clean E's for specialist gloves) on high tier gloves (pandoras, vice, crimson kimono, king snake).
     
     
  5. Flawless corner (or almost flawless) karambits on higher tier knife finishes.
     
     
  6. Specialist Gloves Crimson Kimono - tier 1/2 patterns.

• Patterns which also receive overpay, but less than ones previously mentioned are (but not limited to):
  
  
  1. Case hardened - Other tier 1/2 blue gems, and full gold gems.
     
     
  2. Doppler knives - black pearls, phase 2 pink galaxy.
     
     
  3. Slaughter knives - angel, heart, diamond.
     
     
  4. Fade knife % - low fades (80%) and high fades (100%). High fades are typically more desirable.
     
     
  5. Marble fade knives - fire and ice 4th to 10th max.
     
     
  6. Crimson web knives - multiple true webs on playside.
     
     
  7. Glock-18 emerald.
     
     
  8. Flawless corner (or almost flawless) karambits on lower tier knife finishes.
     
     
  9. Glock-18 fade (high % fades).
     
     
  10. Specialist Gloves Crimson Kimono - tier 3/4/5 patterns.
      
      
  11. Crimson/emerald web glove patterns.

✔️ Float:

Floats can also yield decent overpay. The best way to check their value is by comparing similar float listings on BUFF163.

Some general guidance for floats:

• Some items are float capped - for example, all gloves float ranges are 0.06-0.80, and an M4A1-S Blue Phosphor's float range is 0-0.08. You can see the float ranges for any item via csgostash.
  
  
• Very low float items are much more desired and yield significantly more overpay than very high float items.
  
  
• Items such as a minimal wear M4A1-S Blue Phosphor cost more than factory new due to the float cap, however is far less desirable and harder to sell. More expensive and/or rare ≠ better.
  
  
• Some items which are very close to the next wear rating can also yield overpay - this amount is dependent on the item and if there is a significant price difference between the next wear (e.g. FT is $200, and MW is $700, an item with 0.15 float may be worth $400).

✔️ Applied stickers:

There is no specific rule when determining the amount that a sticker adds to a weapon, however some general guidance can be used:

• Applied stickers do not add 100% sticker value onto the skin.
  
  
• The amount that the sticker adds is dependent on the weapon and the placement.
  
  
• Scraped stickers almost always add no value.
  
  
• Older skins typically yield a lower sticker percentage than new skins (for example, AK-47 Blue Laminate with 4x Titan Holo Katowice 2014 would be cheaper than a AK-47 Vulcan with 4x Titan Holo Katowice 2014).

⚠️ Additional Notes:

• Stattrak knives are usually more expensive due to being rarer than its non-stattrak variants, however are significantly less desired due to the stattrak counter being an engraving on the blade which most people dislike. It is usually much harder to sell (especially ST WW).
  
  
• The general rules of stickers does not apply to souvenir skins - the added value of the stickers is far less. Souvenirs also cannot be traded up, hence are much cheaper and less desired.
  
  
• It is useful to also check 'Trade Records' on BUFF163, and seeing if your item compares to any recent sales. This can be particularly handy for items which sell infrequently (such as Krakow gold stickers).

Scams Overview

This guide features 16 potential scam methods. More may be added in the future. Each section is laid out in the following (along with accompanying images if necessary):


❓ How it works:

• A description of how the scam works.

✔️ How to stay safe:

• Methods you can use to stay safe from the particular scam.

⚠️ Additional notes:

• Any additional notes relating to the scam.

1. Phishing / API Scam

A more in-depth guide about API scam and prevention can be found here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2926756889

❓ How it works:

• The scammer will send you a phishing link - a link which steals your login details or personal information.
  
  
• This gives the scammer access to your account, and the ability to assign an API key.
  
  
• An API key has the ability to create, and decline trade offers.
  
  
• Any trade offers you make will be cancelled and redirected to an impersonators account.

Some very common methods of phishing links are:

1. You win a free item and must claim it by logging into a dodgy website.
   
   
2. You are asked to send full details/price evaluation and must login to dodgy website.
   
   
3. You are asked to compete in a small tournament hosted by a dodgy website and must login.
   
   
4. You are asked to help someone by voting for their submission (such as artwork), in some sort of competition and must login to vote.

✔️ How to stay safe:

• If your account has been compromised, change your password, deauthorise all devices and remove the API key. Steps to do this are shown in the 'Resecure Your Account' in the more in-depth 'API Scam Prevention Guide'.
  
  
• Do not click on links, especially from new users claiming to buy/trade skins. It is handy that if you contact a trusted user via twitter etc. and agree on a deal, to add them before sending the trade. A friend icon will then appear (shown in the first image below).
  
  
• When accepting trades via third-party marketplaces, confirm through the website/app and not navigating to your trade offers.
  
  
• Verify you are trading with the right person before confirming on mobile - using steam level and account creation date (these are usually given as extra security to help confirm the validity the trade). This can be done by before accepting the trade, go to desktop trade offers and post the users profile in https://steamid.uk/ , it will show the registration date.
  
  
• Be wary of protected domains such as https://steamcommunity.com having letters swapped out (such as 'mm' with 'mn' or 'i' with 'í'). This can be easily overlooked.
  
  
• Regularly update your steam API key if you use it. If you do not use it, ensure it is revoked prior and during any trades or confirmations. If there is a key assigned and you did not create one, your account has been compromised and you should change your password immediately. You can find your API key here: https://steamcommunity.com/dev/apikey
  
  
• NEVER give out your API key to anyone, or to sites which are untrusted.
  
  
• If you have already logged into steam, you should not be required to re-enter your username and password when logging into sites. A comparison is shown in the 2 images below:

Example image:

Example image:


Example image (typically phishing):



⚠️ Additional notes:

• Bitskins is a legitimate site, however many scammers have used the site to perform API scams. Take extra precaution when using bitskins, or aim to avoid in general, especially if you are inexperienced.
  
  
• This is not just limited to steam, personal information such as name, date of birth, address and credit card information can also be taken.
  
  
• Legitimate links may also be shown along side the phishing link to make it seem more legitimate.

2. Impersonators

❓ How it works:

• The scammer will add you on a discussion/storage account or impersonating a trader, to buy/trade skins.
  
  
• Once a potential deal has been made, they will ask you to send you the items or login to a site (and become subject to API scam), resulting in you losing your items.

✔️ How to stay safe:

• Have awareness that almost no traders or investors have discussion accounts.
  
  
• When doing trades via twitter, check the following and follower count. Traders/investors will usually follow each other, ensure they are - as they will not follow impersonator accounts. Users with high follower counts and not being followed by at least several legitimate traders should cause red flags immediately.
  
  
• Pay close attention to names (especially on twitter, as there are no cooldowns to changing your twitter handle). For example, someone impersonating me may adopt 'guardy_' or 'guardy___' , with my actual handle being 'guardy__' .
  
  
• If one of your friends has said they have bought or wants to buy an item, verify you are friends with them.

Example images:





⚠️ Additional notes:

• If there is an inventory link present within the impersonators account, this link will typically direct you to the real inventory of the person they are impersonating.
  
  
• If you are unsure, ask the CS twitter community.
  
  
• Note that the scammers account creation date can be longer and follower count can be higher, than the user they are impersonating. Do not always base if a user is not an impersonator purely off these 2 pieces of information.

3. Middleman

❓ How it works:

• This method is similar to impersonation. The scammer suggests a trusted middleman (such as a trader), or allow you to suggest a middleman, and impersonates them.
  
  
• They will then ask you to send items or money directly to the 'middleman', who is an impersonator, and results in you losing your items or money.

✔️ How to stay safe:

• Verify the steam level and account age of the middleman if using one.
  
  
• Aim to avoid using a middleman in general.

4. Game Invites Via Steam Chat

❓ How it works:

• A user will send you a game invite (could be a friend who has been hacked, or a recently added individual).
  
  
• You accept the game invite via the steam chat.
  
  
• This allows the user to execute any program on your computer, hence the ability to gain access to your steam account, personal information, bank accounts, crypto wallets, anything stored and saved on your computer.
  
  
• It is also possible to execute this program on community servers - hence you should stick to trusted servers only.

✔️ How to stay safe:

• Do not accept game invites via steam chat. For CS:GO, load the game and accept the invite in the main menu.
  
  
• Do not connect to random community servers.

⚠️ Additional notes:

• This method has now been patched according to the users who found this exploit. However, if you are presented with the following option to launch your game, you should press 'cancel', as this essentially allows your computer to install a persistent IP logger. You can read more about this here[secret.club].

5. Paypal Chargeback

❓ How it works:

• The scammer will offer to buy skins for cash, and offer paypal.
  
  
• They will offer to go first via paypal, and will typically select goods & services (or family & friends).
  
  
• You proceed to send the skins over after receiving paypal.
  
  
• They will then proceed to issue a paypal chargeback, resulting in your paypal funds being removed. This then leaves you without balance and the skins being lost.

✔️ How to stay safe:

• Always aim to avoid using paypal unless dealing with well trusted people in the CS community (however this should still be a last resort and is not guaranteed safe).

⚠️ Additional notes:

• Paypal no longer supports buyer and seller protection for virtual goods - hence it is easier to chargeback than previously.
  
  
• Goods and services option will give you the senders address on the transaction summary. You will also receive a fee which is visible in the summary.
  
  
• Although friends and family option is safer, it is not guaranteed to be 100% safe.

6. Steam Giftcards

❓ How it works:

• You will receive a trade offer from the scammer, claiming that steam balance will be added to your account once the trade offer is accepted.
  
  
• The custom message can be added into the trade to make it appear authentic.
  
  
• Upon accepting the trade, no steam balance will be added to your account, instead your items will have been lost.

Example image:



✔️ How to stay safe:

• During trades, custom messages can be written within the trade. Know that only items in the actual trade boxes are what you are guaranteed to receive.

⚠️ Additional notes:

• There are no direct way to withdraw steam balance into a bank account.

7. Fake +rep Profiles

❓ How it works:

• This is more considered more fraudulent, than scamming - however can lead to scamming in the long term.
  
  
• Users will offer a +rep for +rep, building up their reputation on their steam profile.
  
  
• In the long term, they may use this to gain trust in making you go first in trades, resulting in the items being lost afterwards.

Example image:



✔️ How to stay safe:

• Do not accept any form of +rep on steam profiles to be considered as proof of trustworthiness.
  
  
• Use https://csgo-rep.com and http://steamrep.com/ to check a users reputation - please note that although it is harder to create fake reputations, it is still possible, and should be taken with caution.

8. Sharking

❓ How it works:

• This is a different type of scamming, where the sharker (buyer) will offer you a significantly lower price for an item which they know is worth a lot more, using your lack of knowledge to make a lot of money from you.
  
  
• An example could be offering $2000 for a $9000 item without you knowing due to it being a rare pattern, float, good stickers applied, etc. - with market value only showing it being worth $2000.

✔️ How to stay safe:

• Know the worth of your item, primarily its cash value. If you do not know, ask various trusted traders, investors or content creators for their help in giving you a price.

9. Similar Items

❓ How it works:

• A trade offer will be sent by the scammer, trading an item such a crown patch, and claims it as a crown foil sticker.

Example image:



✔️ How to stay safe:

• Manually check every item in the trade.
  
  
• Use chrome extensions to provide a full summary of the value of each side of the trade.

⚠️ Additional notes:

• Primary items used in this scam are crown sticker/patch/graffiti, and howling dawn sticker/graffiti.
  
  
  

10. Swapping Items

❓ How it works:

• Similar to item swapping, the scammer adds you first to discuss a deal.
  
  
• If a deal has been met, for example - a ST FN AK-47 | Fire Serpent, they will proceed to send a trade offer, with a ST MW instead, hidden in a storage unit, whilst moving the ST FN version into storage.
  
  
• Alternately, the trade offer may 'accidently' cancelled, with the original trade having the ST FN version. The new trade will then have the ST MW version instead.
  
  
• The price of these different wear values, cause the trade to significantly shift, resulting in an extremely negative trade on your end.

Example image:



✔️ How to stay safe:

• Manually check every item in the trade.
  
  
• Use chrome extensions to provide a full summary of the value of each side of the trade.

11. Manipulating Items

❓ How it works:

• A large quantity of low supply items are bought, causing the price to increase significantly.
  
  
• The item will typically be a higher price than demand can keep up to maintain the higher price, causing it to fall over time.
  
  
• Items involved in a trade will appear at a higher price than it should be - resulting in an over-evaluation.

Example image:



✔️ How to stay safe:

• Aim to avoid items which are in lower supply (especially unusual items such as graffitis and patches).
  
  
• Check the market trends to see if it has currently spiked (steam market trends will not update insantly).

⚠️ Additional notes:

• Although some items may appear to be manipulated, this is not always the case - for example if the price has remain at its 'peek manipulation price' for at least several weeks.
  
  
• It is not always easy to define manipulated items, however the keys items are usually graffitis and patches.

12. Hiding Expensive Items

❓ How it works:

• A trade offer will be sent by the scammer, typically asking for junk items, for a good value skin.
  
  
• Within the junk, there will be a high value item hidden within the trade.

Example image:



✔️ How to stay safe:

• Check every item individually to ensure no high value items are hidden within the trade.
  
  
• Use extensions mentioned at the start of the guide to evaluate the overall value of each side of the trade. This however, should not be the sole method of verifying a trade as the extensions may not load prices for all items.
  
  
• Always verify the true value of items which are rare, as the price can easily be manipulated, and the respective manipulated price shown in the extension summary.
  
  
• Do not trade if you are feeling somewhat tired.
  
  
• Do not trade items in games you are not familiar with.
  
  
• Move any cheap items you do not use into a storage unit (such as graffitis, patches, cases, capsules or weapon skins).

13. Discord Screenshare

❓ How it works:

• The scammer will add you, looking to trade/buy your items.
  
  
• They will have a private inventory, but show you their inventory or trade history via discord screen share.
  
  
• There are chrome extensions which are able to create fake inventories (such as adding lots of knives), as well as fake trade offer histories.
  
  
• They will then use these fake items and trade offers to prove they are legitimate, and will ask you to go first in the trade.

✔️ How to stay safe:

• Do not accept discord screenshares of screenshots as proof of legitimacy.
  
  
• Ask them to unprivate their inventory so you can see their items. This is the best way to confirm their items are real or not (all items shown in their inventory through your end will be real as they would not be able to modify steam servers where the skins are stored).
  
  
• Discuss any dealings on steam or twitter (but ensure it is their actual account and not an impersonator), as chat logs cannot be deleted - opposed to discord which can be deleted.
  
  
• If they have claimed to done deals with big traders, you can always ask them if they have or not.

⚠️ Additional notes:

• Active and legitimate traders will have no reason to private their inventory - if they use an excuse, it is likely they are a scammer.

14. Fake Trades

❓ How it works:

• You will receive a trade offer from the scammer who will replicate a trade confirmation, usually mimicking the custom message within the trade.
  
  
• The item will have not actually sold, resulting in the item being lost when the trade is confirmed.

Example image:




✔️ How to stay safe:

• Verify the item has sold.
  
  
• Do not confirm trades through your steam trade offers tab.
  
  
• Check the account age and steam level (these are usually given as extra security to help confirm the validity the trade).

⚠️ Additional notes:

• This can also be directly related to phishing/api scam mentioned in point 1.

15. Fake Games

❓ How it works:

• You will receive a trade offer from the scammer using items which look like they are from CS but are actually in a different game, which are essentially worthless.
  
  
• The trade offer may look very fair, for example trading a 'Factory New Dragon Lore' for many knives for equalling similar value, where in reality the Dragon Lore is a fake item and is worthless.

Example image:



✔️ How to stay safe:

• Verify every item is from CS, (the icon and description will be identical to CS, so you should check the steam community market item page to verify the game) before accepting the trade.
  
  
• If the trade offer is accidentally cancelled, verify the trade again, or alternately you send the trade and verify the item is from CS (or the game in question you are trading with).

⚠️ Additional notes:

• Steam are usually very swift in removing these games with fake items, however it is not always guaranteed there aren't more which exist.
  
  
• When clicking on the trade offer, you will usually be prompted with a message stating the item is from a game you have never played before (unless you have previously clicked 'ignore this message') - this should be a red flag.

16. Fake Report

❓ How it works:

• A user will contact you saying they have accidently reported your steam account by mistake instead of the 'supposed scammer'.
  
  
• They will proceed to send you a screenshot of them with the report ticket for your account.
  
  
• They will ask you to add an 'Official Steam Support Employee' who will then attempt to resolve the problem by either getting you to login to a fake website or sending items to them so they can 'verify' the items.

Example image:




✔️ How to stay safe:

• Avoid interacting with any of these users, especially if you have not traded recently.
  
  
• If these users do contact you, ensure all conversations are via steam, so the logs remain in the chat and steam support are able to review them (opposed to discord where they can be deleted).
  
  
• Do not add anyone or click/login to any links that either the reporter or 'Official Steam Support Employee' send you.

⚠️ Additional notes:

• Steam will never contact you outside of steam support tickets.
  
  
• It is extremely unlikely (however not impossible) to get a tradeban from 1 report. Typically, tradebans occur from being mass reported. These bans can last anywhere from 2 week to permanent. If you are victim to a 2 week tradeban, it is suggested to wait for the tradeban to expire and the following trade probation to also expire. You should move items to an alternate account in the meantime.

You have been scammed. What do you do?

If you have unfortunately found this guide after being scammed, there will be nothing you can do to recover your items. Steam support will never contact you or offer to recover your lost items.

The next steps you should take is by reporting the steam profile of the scammer to steam support, and hope the user gets banned before the item tradehold ends. This will not return your item back, but it will prevent them from selling for real cash or scamming other individuals. Make you are familiar with the contents of this guide to prevent this from happening in the future, and ensure you complete the "Resecure your account" steps which are listed in my API guide: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2926756889

You should also spread the awareness on twitter, providing the users steam64ID permalink which can be found posting their steam here: https://steamid.io/ , and some detailed evidence. It would also be good to contact a few known members in the community who spread awareness on scammers such as @RadiantCS_, @ExerpasCS and @ZeusperCS.

Thanks For Reading

If you found this guide useful, an upvote will be highly appreciated. Additionally, you can favourite the guide, and showcase it on your steam profile as your 'Favourite Guide'.

Sharing this guide, as well as the 'API Scam Prevention Guide' will be highly appreciated, and will hopefully help reduce the number of scams in the future.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2926756889

[Kufie]

🤗

[Fat and Furious!1!!11]

Thanks for the guide, should be very helpful for new players!

Unfortunately, I've read it 1 year too late. Was scammed on two separate occasions using Discord screenshare/ API scam/ Game invites / fake twitch celebrity / impersonator of a famous trader who said he wanted to help me make some money back after getting scammed once already. I am really too gullible XD. Shows that this really is quite a big problem in csgo. Sadly, both scammers told me to use discord so steam wasn't able to verify that I in fact did get scammed.

Stay safe lads.

[wo3reex]

[76561197960287930]

How to actually stay safe... "you use Steam and its features at your own risk" Valve + Support + and even some Steam Community do not care.

[76561197960287930]

Another excellent, well explained guide, that many Steam users will still not comprehend. Thank you!

[wazzup beijing]

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[fiveunna]

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[emsacraS]

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[rise and shine !]

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[Funduz]

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