Protecting Yourself from Steam Card Scams: Important Tips

If you’re a keen gamer, Steam card scams are a bothersome problem for you as getting into a fraudulent trap is very easy. Steam wallet gifts are sold anonymously, so fraudsters can easily trick you into a scam, getting your money and personal information. To help you safeguard yourself from Steam card scams, we’ve prepared a guide on how you can recognize and avoid such traps.

VeePN Research Lab

Nov 13, 2024

8 min read

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Types of Steam gift card scams

We’ve researched Reddit and Steam Community to look for real-life examples of Steam gift card scams shared by the users. Here are the most common Steam gift card scams we’ve found surfing relatable discussions online:

Discounted Steam cards scam

The simplest type of Steam gift card scam is discount offers. For example, you may be proposed to buy a $100 Steam card at the discounted price of $50. Official Steam gift card codes distributors would never do this, while the rest of the cases are likely to be a scam. Remember, too-good-to-be-true offers are usually deceptive! Just take a look at the discussion below:

Steam wallet gift card trade

Another common Steam gift card scam is a trade/exchange offer. Some fraudulent users on Steam may try to lure others into Steam trades, offer gifts, or market transactions without holding up their end of the deal. Common scams include promising to pay with Steam Wallet codes or either sending fake Steam card codes, reversing gift card payments, or using stolen cards to buy them.

steam trading card — *A typical scam messaging*

PayPal invoice scams

You may be offered to buy a Steam gift card by making a payment via PayPal account and then get an invoice. After you pay, the scammer disappears without sharing a gift card key with you. Since PayPal doesn’t support chargeback requests, you’ll lose your money without a chance to return them.

Another way fraudsters can use PayPal account to scam you is by offering you to sell them your gift cards and get payment on your PayPal account. They may even show you the invoice proving they’re going to pay, but forging a digital document is an easy task for any scammer.

Phishing emails

It’s another basic type of Steam gift card scam that uses a common phishing tactic — distributing a spoofed gift card link in chats, private messages, and Discord channels. As a result, you will leak your personal information, account credentials, and purchased inventory. Take a look at different examples below:

Steam card phishing scam — *Phishing scam in private messages in Steam*

Middlepeople scam

This is a classic scam, where a fraudster and you agree on a trade of Steam Wallet codes. To ensure “fairness,” the scammer suggests using a middleman or encourages the victim to choose a trusted friend for this role. Here’s how it usually unfolds:

1. The scammer picks a “middleman,” who’s actually a friend with a legit-looking profile but is in on the scam.

2. The scammer suggests a popular, well-known middleman. But their friend or a second account will try to impersonate this trusted figure.

3. Even if the victim chooses their own middleman, the scammer’s friend or second account will impersonate this profile to gain control over the trade.

Romance scam

Romance scams are one of the most common ones, but they don’t force you to take immediate action right away. Instead, scammers create fake accounts on social media and dating apps to chat with their potential targets and convince them they’re real people. Then, romance scammers ask for a favor to purchase a Steam gift card for them because of an important “emergency”, financial support, or even proof you really like them and intend to meet up in real life. Needless to say, your “romantic partner” disappears as soon as you get them a Steam gift card.

Beware of such communication online to ensure you won’t end up with empty pockets and broken heart.

How to spot a Steam gift card scam

Detecting a Steam card scam can be a no-brainer if you spot the following signs from the beginning:

🆘Impersonification attempt. When you get a message from your friend, relative, or Steam support team with a request to purchase or exchange Steam cards immediately, you’re likely facing a scam attempt. Steam support team members NEVER offer any card trades, while you can easily check in on your friends and relatives whether they want to exchange Steam cards. The rule of thumb here is to double-check the request with your friends via another communication channel such as a phone call or personal interaction.

🆘Too good to be true offers. If you’re offered a Steam gift card for free or for a surprisingly low price, it’s definitely a scam. Again, nothing is free in this world, so accepting such an attractive offer means you’ll pay much more than you intended to and will get nothing in return.

🆘Sense of urgency. Scammers try to rush you through a transaction to keep you from noticing it’s a scam, so don’t be in a hurry and stay put.

🆘Poor grammar. Phishing emails and other scam messages often have grammatical errors, so if the person sending you a trade offer can’t put two words together without an error, it’s probably a scam.

🆘Asking for unnecessary details. Scammers may ask for detailed information about your Steam account or how you verify logins — something official Steam staff or your close ones would never do

Those are the most essential tips on how to spot a Steam gift card scam, but it’s much better to protect yourself from facing such situations once and for all. Let’s discuss how you can do this.

How to avoid a Steam card scam

To stay away from Steam gift card scams, remember to follow these practices:

⛔Check the card’s authenticity. Always verify that any email, offer, promotion, or Steam-related message comes from a legitimate source.

⛔Keep your purchase receipts. If you accidentally shared the codes with a scammer, your receipt can serve as valuable evidence when contacting Steam and your local police department.

⛔Avoid buying Steam cards in bulk. The more cards you have, the easier it is for scammers to get card numbers and PINs — and the harder it becomes to keep track of which ones you’ve activated.

⛔Activate a card only when you’re ready to use it. Keep in mind that unredeemed Steam cards may be eligible for a refund.

⛔Don’t share your Steam Wallet code. Treat Steam like any sensitive work application — never share your codes with anyone, no matter what. If someone pressures you for your codes, they’re probably trying to scam you.

⛔Use multi-factor authentication for the Steam app. Adding an extra layer of security makes it harder for scammers to hack your account and steal your Steam card activation codes or PIN numbers.

⛔Buy cards from legitimate sources only. Steam provides options to load your account or buy games directly on the platform, so it’s best to purchase physical cards only from retail stores.

⛔Use a virtual private network (VPN) app. A VPN app will encrypt all your Internet traffic and pass it through a remote server, so that you won’t leak your personal information and location. Also, many VPNs protect from malware as well as other online threats, which is why adding one more layer of security can be essential for your Internet privacy.

All the things we’ve just mentioned are quite clear, but what is so special about using a VPN? Let’s find out!

How can a VPN protect you against Steam gift cards scams?

The main perk of a VPN app for protecting from scams is its ability to encrypt your traffic and pass it through a secure “tunnel” to a remote server, so that you can conceal your identity online. As a result, using a VPN app provides you with the following benefits:

🛡️Encryption. As we have mentioned, all your Internet traffic gets encoded, so that even if hackers manage to intercept your data, they won’t be able to read it without a special decryption key.

🛡️IP address masking. Once your Internet traffic goes through a remote server, nobody can see your real IP address and identify your physical whereabouts.

🛡️Malware detection. Many VPNs are capable of detecting and blocking any malware in case you click on a phishing link or happen to visit a malicious site.

However, we advise against using free VPNs as they don’t provide a reliable Domain Name System (DNS) leak protection and 90% of them sell your personal information to third parties to make profits. Instead, try VeePN — a premium VPN application that follows a strict No Logs policy and offers such security features as NetGuard, Double VPN, and Anonymous Email. Compatible with all major operating systems and platforms, VeePN can be your go-to security solution across 10 different devices for one subscription.

Use VeePN for secure Steam card purchases

Steam card scams are an annoying problem that doesn’t seem to disappear as selling and buying these gift cards doesn’t require revealing one’s identity, making it perfect for scammers and fraudsters to do their thing. So you have nothing left but be careful with purchasing Steam gift cards and remember about all these tips we’ve shared with you in this article.
To ensure you won’t face any serious consequences in case of falling into a Steam gift card scam, consider using VeePN. This all-in-one cybersecurity app offers a wide range of security features and such standalone tools as antivirus software, Breach Alert, and Alternative ID. Download VeePN right now to secure your Steam card purchases and enjoy a 30-day money-back guarantee!

FAQ

A Steam card scam tricks people into purchasing Steam gift cards and sharing the codes with scammers, who then cash them in for online goods or resell them for profit. Scammers often impersonate trusted contacts or organizations, claiming the gift card payment is needed for a fee, fine, or urgent service. Once the code is given, it’s nearly impossible to recover the money.

For example, scammers contact a victim and pretend to be a trusted entity, like a government agency, tech support, or even a loved one in need. They create a sense of urgency or fear, claiming the victim must pay fees, fines, or emergency costs. Instead of traditional payments, they instruct the victim to buy Steam gift cards and share the codes on the back. Once the scammer has these codes, they redeem them immediately, leaving the victim without recourse to recover the funds. Read other cases of Steam card scams in this article.

Scammers want Steam cards because they’re easy to resell or trade for cash or other digital assets, making them a convenient form of untraceable currency. Steam cards provide fast, anonymous access to funds that can be used to buy digital goods on the Steam platform or converted into other assets. This flexibility and low traceability make them appealing tools for fraudsters to profit from quickly.

Written by VeePN Research Lab VeePN Research Lab is dedicated to provide you latest posts about internet security and privacy.