CS2 Scams: How to protect yourself from all kinds of scams

Scams have always been a major problem in Counter-Strike. For this reason, it is unfortunately important for every skin owner to familiarize themselves with this issue in order to protect their valuable items.

First, we’ll go over the most important safety measures to help you prevent scams. Next, we’ll briefly explain all the known types of scams so you can spot them quickly. Finally, we’ll give you tips on what to do if you’ve fallen victim to a scam.

Steam Security Measures to Avoid Being Scammed

1. activate Steam Guard (two-factor authentication)

Steam Guard is the best and easiest way to protect yourself against scammers. Steam Guard enables two-factor authentication, which requires a security code in addition to your username and password when logging in on unfamiliar devices.

You can receive the Steam Guard code either via email or through the Steam app on your phone. We strongly recommend using the Steam app on your phone, as it offers significantly more security than the email option. If your computer is hacked or a keylogger is installed, the scammers will likely also have access to your email, rendering two-factor authentication useless. Therefore, it’s much better to have Steam Guard set up on an external device—that is, your phone.

The safest option would actually be to use a separate cell phone for Steam Guard—one that’s used for nothing else but Steam Guard. Think about whether you might still have an old cell phone that you could use for Steam Guard.

2. do not click on any links (Steam, e-mail, Discord, etc.)

One of the most important ways to protect yourself is to avoid clicking on links. You need to be especially careful with people you don’t know, and ideally, you should never click on links. But you also need to be careful with friends—their account might have been hacked, or the scammers might have created a very convincing copy of your friend’s account. Scammers have now developed many tactics to convince victims to click on links, whether on Steam, Discord, or in emails.

Even if the links look official at first glance, that doesn't mean anything—scammers often use domains that look very similar to the original ones. The pages on the domain are usually exact copies of the original site, but if you try to log in, the scammers will steal your account information.

Therefore, you should only click on links where you are 100% sure that they are correct and secure.

3. Do not log in outside of Steam

If you ever come across a website that asks you to log in with your Steam account, you need to be very careful. We recommend that you never log in on any website other than the official Steam sites to ensure that your account information isn't stolen.

4. unique and strong password

You should use a strong and unique password for both Steam and your linked email address. A secure password makes it much harder for scammers to hack into your Steam account and steal your items. Consider using a password manager to generate very strong, randomly generated passwords.

Also, remember never to save your password on your computer or write it down in a text document. If hackers were to gain access to your computer, they would have direct access to your account.

If you have not yet verified your email with Steam, you should do so immediately to make your account more secure.

5. do not trust strangers

One piece of wisdom we were taught as children is not to trust strangers. Many scammers pretend to be nice people who just want to help you. But always remember, if something looks too good to be true, then it probably is too good.

If you have expensive skins in your inventory, you've surely already been contacted by people offering to play matchmaking with you or something similar. However, this is only meant to build trust.

Often, these people will then offer to buy your skins directly for real money, and as soon as you transfer the skins to them, they’ll withdraw their money, leaving you with nothing. That’s why you should always use external (trustworthy!) services when trading—they provide security, even if they charge fees.

6. Check Profiles

As we explained in point two, scammers are increasingly trying to impersonate people you know. It’s important that you always pay close attention to whether the person is really who you think they are. If you’re not sure, call the person and ask them to confirm directly that they are who you think they are.

This is especially important if you trade skins, since scammers often find their victims through trading platforms. Through these platforms, scammers can gather a fair amount of information about you and tailor the scam perfectly to you, so you should always exercise extreme caution.

7. only log in to Steam on secure computers

This point should actually go without saying, but we wanted to emphasize it separately. If you log in to Steam on someone else’s computer—such as at an internet café—it poses a major risk to the security of your account. Other people’s computers may be infected with viruses or keyloggers that steal your account information, allowing scammers to easily gain access to your account.

Types of scams - What methods CS2 skin scammers use

These days, there are countless different ways that scammers operate. The following list includes the most well-known and common types of scams. Keep in mind, however, that this list is not exhaustive, as scammers are constantly coming up with new ways to steal skins.

• Phishing scam – In a phishing scam, scammers try to trick you into logging in to a fake website in order to steal your account information. They often use counterfeit Steam or tournament websites for this purpose.
• Software Scam - The aim of the software scam is to install a virus such as a keylogger on your computer in order to steal your account data.
• Credit scam – The credit scam is one of the oldest scams out there. The scammers send you a trade request with a message saying that you'll receive Steam credit (which, of course, you never actually get) if you accept the request.
• Identity (Impersonation) Scam – In this scam, scammers create a Steam account that looks very similar to one of your friends' accounts or a Steam employee's account. They then message you and ask for your account information or skins.
• Paypal Scam – Scammers offer you real money on Steam for your skins. In most cases, the amount is far too high for the skins, and they actually do send you the money. If you then send them your skins, they’ll withdraw the money to PayPal, and you’ll lose your skins.

What to do if you have been scammed?

You should take the following steps immediately if you have fallen victim to a scam:

• Step 1: Try to keep your Block Steam accountto prevent further damage.
• Step 2: Think about what might be causing the scam. Run an antivirus scan on your computer. Remove any viruses or keyloggers from your computer to prevent damage to other areas, such as your bank account or PayPal account.
• Step 3: If possible, try to change your Steam and email passwords. Ideally, use a different computer to do this for security reasons.
• Step 4: If possible, Generate new Steam Guard backup codes and revoke authorization for all devices.
• Step 5: If it's still possible, remove API keys from your Steam account.
• Step 6: Contact Steam Support. Explain your situation and think about how you can prove that the Steam account belongs to you.
• Step 7: Once you've regained access to your Steam account, change all your account information again on a secure device, just to be safe.

Also keep in mind that a scam can go beyond just your CS2 skins. To be on the safe side, you should reset all your passwords and make absolutely sure there are no viruses left on your computer.