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Scammer Warning - Steam "Admin"
2 years ago
General
Having worked in some shape or form of financial fields, including my current job at a bank, I've had my share of hearing people being almost scammed (or having been scammed) into a scam that robs them or others of their money under the guise of good faith efforts. More often than not, they ask for cash or gift cards through the mail or domestic/international wires.
The latest scam I have seen pop up has been a Discord User going by the name of "IceFrogDota#5548" claiming to be an administrator for Steam and helping them rectify user accounts that were hacked and falsely reported for being involved in a cryptocurrency scam...unfortunately, my fiancé was on the receiving end of one scam, but I interjected before he got in too deep.
What people do not realize is that this user (by force or sheer luck) hacks certain accounts and uses their Steam Wallet to load up funds (most likely illicit funds) and make purchases through obscure gaming websites. According to forum posts on the Steam Community, this user has been engaged in ongoing efforts to scam people by demanding they pay them in gift cards or other funds to "refund" the cash that was loaded into the Steam Wallet or face account deletion.
Let me break this down for you:
1. Steam CANNOT delete your account for violations of Terms of Service. If you break TOS, you face suspension or being banned depending on the severity or type of transgression committed.
2. Steam WILL NOT CONTACT YOU outside of official communication channels (i.e. Email via a Support Ticket). Always be skeptical of any communication you receive in any shape or form; that may look official but have subtle differences (i.e. Email Address doesn't match the company, hyperlink hover boxes lead to a different URL than the described picture/text).
I know FA has a very picky rule about "name shaming" users regardless if they're on FA or not, but given how prevalent and recent this scam is, I cannot in good conscience stay silent with critical information, but I will make this very clear:
If you are approached by the aforementioned user (or anyone in general on Discord claiming to be "official" employees of Steam or any company), DO NOT ENGAGE WITH THEM. Do not talk with them, do not click or download anything from them; just ignore them, block them, and report them.
If you have any concerns about your account after such a contact, contact the affected service directly through secure, trusted URLs; in the case of Steam, their support page can be found here: https://help.steampowered.com/en/
Share this journal along with a brief summary of the scam to let others know what to watch out for and what to do.
Be vigilant, be safe, be careful; this time of year sees a lot of scam activity.
The latest scam I have seen pop up has been a Discord User going by the name of "IceFrogDota#5548" claiming to be an administrator for Steam and helping them rectify user accounts that were hacked and falsely reported for being involved in a cryptocurrency scam...unfortunately, my fiancé was on the receiving end of one scam, but I interjected before he got in too deep.
What people do not realize is that this user (by force or sheer luck) hacks certain accounts and uses their Steam Wallet to load up funds (most likely illicit funds) and make purchases through obscure gaming websites. According to forum posts on the Steam Community, this user has been engaged in ongoing efforts to scam people by demanding they pay them in gift cards or other funds to "refund" the cash that was loaded into the Steam Wallet or face account deletion.
Let me break this down for you:
1. Steam CANNOT delete your account for violations of Terms of Service. If you break TOS, you face suspension or being banned depending on the severity or type of transgression committed.
2. Steam WILL NOT CONTACT YOU outside of official communication channels (i.e. Email via a Support Ticket). Always be skeptical of any communication you receive in any shape or form; that may look official but have subtle differences (i.e. Email Address doesn't match the company, hyperlink hover boxes lead to a different URL than the described picture/text).
I know FA has a very picky rule about "name shaming" users regardless if they're on FA or not, but given how prevalent and recent this scam is, I cannot in good conscience stay silent with critical information, but I will make this very clear:
If you are approached by the aforementioned user (or anyone in general on Discord claiming to be "official" employees of Steam or any company), DO NOT ENGAGE WITH THEM. Do not talk with them, do not click or download anything from them; just ignore them, block them, and report them.
If you have any concerns about your account after such a contact, contact the affected service directly through secure, trusted URLs; in the case of Steam, their support page can be found here: https://help.steampowered.com/en/
Share this journal along with a brief summary of the scam to let others know what to watch out for and what to do.
Be vigilant, be safe, be careful; this time of year sees a lot of scam activity.
