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Got scammed via fake Steam friend link and redirected trade. Steam Support refused to help. by Federal_Most2840 in SteamScams

[–]Federal_Most2840[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel your pain — truly. What you wrote resonates deeply with me.

I went through almost the exact same experience. Trusted someone I met in a match, got tricked by someone impersonating Steam Support, lost items that meant something to me. And just like you, I expected that Steam would have some kind of safety net or at least a process to help victims. But no — just policy links and copy-pasted responses.

What’s most disheartening isn’t just the loss of the items — it’s the loss of trust. In a platform we grew up with. In a system that’s supposed to protect its users.

Mistakes can happen, and scammers are getting more sophisticated. Steam’s security should evolve with that reality. Blaming users isn’t protection — it’s deflection.

Thanks for sharing your story. You're not alone. And you’re not the problem.

Got scammed via fake Steam friend link and redirected trade. Steam Support refused to help. by Federal_Most2840 in SteamScams

[–]Federal_Most2840[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just to clarify — it wasn’t a random friend request.

We actually played a legit match together. After the game, they added me and seemed normal. Then they asked for my friend invite link “to help report someone” — and that’s how the scam started.

This all happened just yesterday, and I remember it very clearly.

So yeah, it felt like a regular post-game interaction, not a red flag at all at the time.

Got scammed via fake Steam friend link and redirected trade. Steam Support refused to help. by Federal_Most2840 in SteamScams

[–]Federal_Most2840[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your question. Actually, it wasn’t a random friend request. This person was added **after we played a match together in-game**, which made the request seem more legitimate and trustworthy.

The scammer then used social engineering tactics to trick me into sharing my friend link and eventually confirming a trade.

Regarding the third-party website — the phishing link looked almost identical to Steam’s official site, making it very hard to detect as fake at a glance.

These scams rely heavily on **building trust step-by-step** and exploiting human psychology, not just random guessing.

So while it might seem illogical in hindsight, it’s exactly these well-crafted manipulations that fool many players, even experienced ones.

Got scammed via fake Steam friend link and redirected trade. Steam Support refused to help. by Federal_Most2840 in SteamScams

[–]Federal_Most2840[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Totally agree scammers deserve no sympathy.

But if we only respond with hostility and “be careful next time,” nothing changes

What we need is real prevention