PSA: Dota 2 Corrupted/Autographed/etc.Trading Scams

Does someone want to trade a "Corrupted/Autographed/etc. (fill in the blank)" for your CSGO knife? Seem like a great deal? It's probably not.

What is a Corrupted item?

A corrupted item is a Dota 2 item that has a Foulfell Shard slotted into it. This is a stat-tracking gem that keeps track of your demon kills. Certain heroes in Dota 2 are classified as demons. When you kill them in a game while equipped with a Corrupted item, it will track your kills.

Foulfell Shards generally cost anywhere from $1.50 to $2. They are fully tradable and marketable. Anyone can purchase them on the market.

What is an Autographed item?

An Autograph is another gem that can be combined with a Dota 2 item. An Autograph is basically a virtual version of a baseball signed by your favorite player. Some of these Autographs for popular professional Dota 2 players can be worth a lot.

Many autographs can be bought starting at about 25 cents though.

How the scam works

A scammer will generally take some cheap Dota 2 item and add a foulfell shard or autograph to it. Since there is an incredibly low demand for most of these items, there usually won't be a listing for them. So the scammer will list the item for some ridiculous price, usually hundreds of dollars.

The scammer will then use another account and usually will approach players individually at random to offer them this "great" trade. They usually want either expensive CSGO, Dota 2 items, keys, etc. and they will offer this item that *appears* to be worth more than the item they want to trade with you.

They'll then say, "Look how much it's worth on the market!" They'll usually also have some excuse why they're giving you such a great deal and as a hallmark with most scams, it has to do be done quickly!

A greedy person will think they can immediately profit, while ignoring the glaring fact that the item in question has ZERO market history, meaning no one has ever purchased it for the price the scammer is trying to claim it's worth.

In some rare cases, a scammer may post an obscure item for sale at a ridiculous price, then buy it from themselves using another account to establish a market history for it. This is a similar tactic for other scams as well.

No matter what the item is, corrupted, autographed, inscribed, frozen, genuine, etc. the commonality in all these scams is posting an item with little or no market history, where only one or a few are available on the market and posting their own sale for it to make it seem like it's worth a lot. Another common thread in these scams is that they need to trade it "fast." These scams prey on greedy people who think they can make a quick profit.

If you see an item posted on the Steam market for hundreds of dollars but it has NEVER sold for anywhere near that price, then you have zero reason to believe it's worth anything close to that.

What is it really worth?

Most scammers will take a 4 or 5 cent item and put a foulfell shard in it. So it's worth about $1.75 + the 4 or 5 cents, or however much the base item is worth.

In case of autographed items, scammers will usually just buy the cheapest autograph gems they can buy which start at around 25 cents.

Since "clean" items, non-slotted items are often valued more than gemmed items, these corrupted/autographed items are often worth even less or simply won't sell because people don't want to pay an extra $1.75 for a 4 cent item. That means you'll have to remove the gem yourself which uses charges from an Artificer's Hammer which you usually have to pay for. You will also have to install Dota 2 to do so.

So if you have a cheap common item, you'll have to remove the foulfell shard or the autograph gem and you'll only be able to make about $.25 to $1.80 back.

Don't make a rash trade or purchase and then ask what it's worth *AFTER* you've already been scammed.

What to do if you've been scammed

Generally speaking, you're screwed. You can report the scammer and action may be taken against their account but it's highly unlikely that support will reverse the trade. It's your responsibility to ensure you are getting a fair trade.

See below for more information on how to identify and avoid scams:

Steam Trade Scam FAQ:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3415-WAFH-6433

Steam Item Restoration Policy:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9958-MJDG-3003

Additional Resources

Like reading? Here's some more helpful stuff:

New to Dota 2?
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=630339657

PSA: Save your reports for people who deserve them
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=610727487

Dota 2: The Power of Positive Thinking
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=423565666

Why you got Low Priority
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=625103077

[chingilik]

Thanks

[BarendKlipKap]

I dont usually trade so i was easy pock but think ive learned my lesson

[BarendKlipKap]

Wow lost 15$ for what is supossed to be fair trade for nothing wow.

[Bobrini Cactusini]

Really well explained, it saved my ass thanks :D

[present369]

good info

[76561198111107812]

nice

[᲼᲼᲼᲼᲼᲼᲼᲼᲼᲼]

im reporting this thread

[Mark]

this look:s nc

[Discochad]

petra you better not be being serious

[Luska]

chicken