The Scam
This is meant to be a general warning, so I will try to keep it quick and concise. Most of you out there probably already know how this happens or know someone it has happened to.
*Disclaimer - I SUCK at Dota. I mainly made this version of the guide for Dota because of feedback from the counterstrike community version i made. Regardless, the info is need-to-know in my opinion, so enjoy*
The most common way for people to get scammed in Dota at the moment, is with the use of fake links. To avoid aiding a scammer, i obviously will not be posting actual links below, but will briefly describe what they look like and do.
Everyone knows the http://steamcommunity.com link.
It takes you to the basic log in page for steam, and is completely legit in terms of safe use and risk of getting scammed. The problem is that scammers have begun making sites with only a slight variation to the http://steamcommunity.com url. As i said before, i will not be posting these links to avoid aiding a scammer.
A few examples of a small change to - steamcommunity - are listed below.
Original, safe site:
- steamcommunity -
Fake, phishing sites:
- staemcommunity -
- steamcommunlty -
- steaemcommunity -
- steamcommunitly -
*Note - I am not including all fake link variations of - steamcommunity - here, or the list would be stupidly long. Please don't tell me "you forgot this version" because i didnt lol.
Now looking at them here, you may not see why so many players fall for it. Wow, thats so obvious right? Well for the second part of my warning, I will tell you why so many people fall for it.
*Disclaimer - I SUCK at Dota. I mainly made this version of the guide for Dota because of feedback from the counterstrike community version i made. Regardless, the info is need-to-know in my opinion, so enjoy*
The most common way for people to get scammed in Dota at the moment, is with the use of fake links. To avoid aiding a scammer, i obviously will not be posting actual links below, but will briefly describe what they look like and do.
Everyone knows the http://steamcommunity.com link.
It takes you to the basic log in page for steam, and is completely legit in terms of safe use and risk of getting scammed. The problem is that scammers have begun making sites with only a slight variation to the http://steamcommunity.com url. As i said before, i will not be posting these links to avoid aiding a scammer.
A few examples of a small change to - steamcommunity - are listed below.
Original, safe site:
- steamcommunity -
Fake, phishing sites:
- staemcommunity -
- steamcommunlty -
- steaemcommunity -
- steamcommunitly -
*Note - I am not including all fake link variations of - steamcommunity - here, or the list would be stupidly long. Please don't tell me "you forgot this version" because i didnt lol.
Now looking at them here, you may not see why so many players fall for it. Wow, thats so obvious right? Well for the second part of my warning, I will tell you why so many people fall for it.
The Scammers
The way these scammers and phishers get INTO your account is by posing as a trader. While this may sound confusing if you have no experience with them, they do it very well. This is one such example of a "Fake Account" using a fake - steamcommunity - url.
Looks real doesn't it? This person, "GG", does not exist. It is a fake profile made entirely for the purpose of convincing others to trade. None of the friends are real accounts, none of the +Rep recommendations are legitimate, and if you click anywhere on the page, it redirects you to a REAL account page, which many do not realize until it is too late.
And this brings me to explaining HOW the scammers get you to click on their fake links, which are pretty convincing to those who do not pay enough attention.
They ask you to trade. What they say is something similar to this:
"Hey, my friend cant seem to add you to trade, will you go add him?" And then give you a fake link.
This is only one example, and what you really need to watch out for is the link itself. CAREFULLY inspect each link you are given, especially if you dont know the person well, or they added you just earlier.
And if you happen to have clicked a link and realize your mistake, DO NOT LOG IN.
The links, being fake, require you to log in on the fake site. This is how the scammers get your info.
When you log in on the fake - steamcommunity - link, you enter your ID and password, essentially handing your account over to the hacker.
From that point, the hackers simply take your items out of your pocket and trade them over multiple accounts in and effort to not be caught, or just sell them.
Disclaimer: This does not work. Out of 5 friends that have been hacked, all have gotten their items back within a week or two, and ALL of the scammer's accounts have been permabanned.
This takes us to my last point, what to do if you have already had this happen to you.
Looks real doesn't it? This person, "GG", does not exist. It is a fake profile made entirely for the purpose of convincing others to trade. None of the friends are real accounts, none of the +Rep recommendations are legitimate, and if you click anywhere on the page, it redirects you to a REAL account page, which many do not realize until it is too late.
And this brings me to explaining HOW the scammers get you to click on their fake links, which are pretty convincing to those who do not pay enough attention.
They ask you to trade. What they say is something similar to this:
"Hey, my friend cant seem to add you to trade, will you go add him?" And then give you a fake link.
This is only one example, and what you really need to watch out for is the link itself. CAREFULLY inspect each link you are given, especially if you dont know the person well, or they added you just earlier.
And if you happen to have clicked a link and realize your mistake, DO NOT LOG IN.
The links, being fake, require you to log in on the fake site. This is how the scammers get your info.
When you log in on the fake - steamcommunity - link, you enter your ID and password, essentially handing your account over to the hacker.
From that point, the hackers simply take your items out of your pocket and trade them over multiple accounts in and effort to not be caught, or just sell them.
Disclaimer: This does not work. Out of 5 friends that have been hacked, all have gotten their items back within a week or two, and ALL of the scammer's accounts have been permabanned.
This takes us to my last point, what to do if you have already had this happen to you.
The Retrieval of Stolen Items
This section of the guide is for those of you who have already been scammed in the way i described above. Ill get right into it.
Step 1: SUBMIT A TICKET. This is the MOST important step to retrieving your items, because what the scammers do is not detectable by valve unless you tell them it happened.
As soon as possible, get that ticket in, with as much information you have.
Include the fake links used, the conversations had with the scammer, and what was stolen as best you can remember. This is all helpful information to valve, and can only help them in your quest to get your items back safely and quickly.
Step 2: Talk to the Steam Rep you are assigned. For example, you will be assigned a representative of steam who will email you, either A) telling you your items have been returned, or B) telling you they need more information. Either way, be completely honest with the Steam rep, as they are literally your lifeline. If they are not convinced your items were stolen (and without proof, it looks as if you just traded all your items to someone) You may not get your items back.
Now, dont be scared if this happened to you. In all the cases i know of, the player got their items back safely, every single one. Even skins that were sold by the scammers were returned to the player. The scammer and all his/her accounts are banned, and can no longer cause harm, though sadly they can still make new ones.
NOTE: The time it takes on average is a week and a half for items to be returned, at least in my experience. During this time, check on your ticket constantly, and update it with any information you forgot. Respond to the Steam Rep as soon as possible when you get a response, as they get a lot of tickets daily. And Remember, dont stress yourself out. Ive never heard of this happening and the person NOT getting their items back within a few weeks.
Step 1: SUBMIT A TICKET. This is the MOST important step to retrieving your items, because what the scammers do is not detectable by valve unless you tell them it happened.
As soon as possible, get that ticket in, with as much information you have.
Include the fake links used, the conversations had with the scammer, and what was stolen as best you can remember. This is all helpful information to valve, and can only help them in your quest to get your items back safely and quickly.
Step 2: Talk to the Steam Rep you are assigned. For example, you will be assigned a representative of steam who will email you, either A) telling you your items have been returned, or B) telling you they need more information. Either way, be completely honest with the Steam rep, as they are literally your lifeline. If they are not convinced your items were stolen (and without proof, it looks as if you just traded all your items to someone) You may not get your items back.
Now, dont be scared if this happened to you. In all the cases i know of, the player got their items back safely, every single one. Even skins that were sold by the scammers were returned to the player. The scammer and all his/her accounts are banned, and can no longer cause harm, though sadly they can still make new ones.
NOTE: The time it takes on average is a week and a half for items to be returned, at least in my experience. During this time, check on your ticket constantly, and update it with any information you forgot. Respond to the Steam Rep as soon as possible when you get a response, as they get a lot of tickets daily. And Remember, dont stress yourself out. Ive never heard of this happening and the person NOT getting their items back within a few weeks.
End Notes and Wrap Up
I made this guide to warn the entire Dota community about the scamming epidemic that is currently going on. Having had this happen to several friends, I hate that it goes on.
Obviously, accounts with good items are higher priority targets for these scammers, so you cant be too careful.
Thats it for now, if i forgot anything, leave me a comment telling me, and i'll update the guide.
> Please leave a like and share this with your Dota friends, so we can spread awareness <
Helpful comment by "Arleas"
>
(If they say...)
"my friend can't seem to add you". In that case, give them your trade link and they don't HAVE to add you.
Go to your inventory page and click on "trade offers" and then "Who can trade with me" and near the bottom where it says "third party sites" is a URL you can give to anyone to let them initiate a trade without them having to be on your friends list.
You can revoke/change the URL at any time (if they prove to be annoying) and that would probably stop most of these scams dead in their tracks (unless of course they're seeking to trade "stolen goods" with you).
Obviously, accounts with good items are higher priority targets for these scammers, so you cant be too careful.
Thats it for now, if i forgot anything, leave me a comment telling me, and i'll update the guide.
> Please leave a like and share this with your Dota friends, so we can spread awareness <
Helpful comment by "Arleas"
>
(If they say...)
"my friend can't seem to add you". In that case, give them your trade link and they don't HAVE to add you.
Go to your inventory page and click on "trade offers" and then "Who can trade with me" and near the bottom where it says "third party sites" is a URL you can give to anyone to let them initiate a trade without them having to be on your friends list.
You can revoke/change the URL at any time (if they prove to be annoying) and that would probably stop most of these scams dead in their tracks (unless of course they're seeking to trade "stolen goods" with you).
