[How To] Protect Yourself From Scammers and Account Security

[ǍгᴋᴀɴД ₭ɪлʛ]

Created this because http://i.imgur.com/9M4hgKo.png that add me :/

General Information:

In today's TF2 economy, there are many people who want to make profit. Some however use deceptive methods for profit and this thread is dedicated to arm yourself with the knowledge on how you can well-protect your reputation, account and items.

People who use these methods are referred to as scammers and phishers. You DO NOT want to trade with these people but why is it so important not to trade with these types of traders and why should you care? Well you should care, because trading with these types of traders can seriously hurt your reputation and can land you in a lot of trouble. You should only really run background checks on important and costly trades. 

 

Scammer: A person who swindles you by means of deception or fraud (wordnetweb)

Phishing: The act of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. (wikipedia)

 

 

Getting started

But before you do anything, it's important to know the tools you'll be using. First go onto Backpack.tf and type their SteamID into the search bar http://i.imgur.com/Rw080q0.png. If you're unsure on to obtain someone's SteamID, go onto their profiles and copy this part of the url -> http://i.imgur.com/a85SBRn.png

 

(make sure you have Steam display URL setting enabled if you're using a Steam client). Now that you're here, you can now easily perform a background check. 

 

 

Q: How to check if a user is a scammer?

A: Check the SteamRep tag near the right hand side as it will indicate if someone is a marked scammer -> http://i.imgur.com/0YoE3gB.png. Still, it's important to do a little more research more than this as SteamRep may not be up-to-date. I would recommend that you click on the SteamRep text to go onto SteamRep.com and check for any additional information http://i.imgur.com/SMVMTAH.png. 

 

 

Q: What is a phisher/phishing?

A: I'm not going to go into a lot of information about phishing as there are already tons of threads dedicated to them but basically this post summarizes it just fine -> http://i.imgur.com/vyv0OeX.png. NEVER click these but if you do accidentally, never log in or do anything that it tells you to do.

 

 

Q: How do I know the Steam page I'm logging into is authentic?

A: First, you can check the spelling of the link if you haven't done so already but all genuine Steam pages will have these -> http://i.imgur.com/E1q4oHK.png if I'm not mistaken?

 

 

Q: I accidentally click a phishing link and logged on or download/uploaded a file!

A: It is important to act FAST! If you logged onto the phishing link, log out of it and change your password ASAP! Be-sure to check if you can access your account after you changed it. 

 

If you uploaded/downloaded a file, power off and unplug your computer. Change your password on a different computer/device and deauthorize all devices (steam guard). Then plug in/boot up that computer and run multiple virus scans until you're sure its clean. (courtesy of AwesomeMcCoolName)

(I'm not use to this type so I would appreciate feedback on how to deal with this!)

 

 

Q: My account got hi-jacked and I lost all my items! What do I do!?

A: Here's a guide on recovering hi-jacked items created by Blind Polar Bear http://forums.backpack.tf/index.php?/topic/1206-guide-to-recovering-hijacked-items/ (also has some good tips on security)

It's also very important that you report the account that hi-jacked you or has your hi-jacked item(s) to SteamRep or Steam to alert other users to be wary (be certain that the account you're reporting belongs to the hi-jacker or alt of the hi-jacker rather than a user that bought it from the hi-jacker).

 

 

Q: How do I know if a user wants to sell me a stolen/hi-jacked item?

A: Before I continue with this, it is important not to buy stolen/hi-jacked items as it can help scammers scam others and can hurt your reputation if you do it repeatedly/knowingly! Should check this for costly trades. Check the account's profile. If they have a really low/rarely amount of playtime and already have a super costly item, chances are that's it's an alt of a phisher/scammer (important to use the best of your judgement). Another way is to check the items history. If you're uncertain on how to do this -> http://i.imgur.com/0CkSwAR.png. When checking the item history, be sure to check when the most recent scammer that had it or verify with it's last genuine owner if they were scammed out of it.

(very shaky at this part, more input from people with experience would be helpful!)

 

 

Do

• Run background check for trades up to 10 keys or higher
  
• Verify that the user is who they say they are if you're worry if they are an impersonater 
  
• Ask questions and run a background check if you're uncertain or uncomfortable
  
• Thoroughly check the items in a trade to make sure there is no item misrepresentation.
  
• Report users that attempted to or have scam you!
  
• Make sure you have a reliable way to access your email if it ever gets hi-jacked
  

 

Don't

• EVER have the same password for both your Steam account and E-mail you use for Steam (I can't stress this enough!)
  
• Give too much information over the internet as some accounts can get hi-jacked through social engineering
  
• be careless for important trades
  
• report or call people scammers that are selling above backpack.tf's, other sellers price or the price you're buying it at! (it's quite annoying when new users do this!)...IGNORE THEM and move on. ---> http://i.imgur.com/9btIxMM.png
  
• Click on random links or download anything someone else ask you too! It's common knowledge you know.
  
• Lie to trusted personal such as admins, it just makes things worst than they need to be.
  

 

EDIT: Still in progress, please give feedback if you disagree, think something could be improved, what you found useful,  parts you found messy or visual aid/organization of content which might help.

[AwesomeMcCoolName]

Q: I accidentally click a phishing link and logged on or download/uploaded a file!

A: It is important to act FAST! If you logged onto the phishing link, log out of it and change your password ASAP! Be-sure to check if you can access your account after you changed it. 

 

If you uploaded/download a file, log out of the phishing link, change your password and run a virus scan ASAP.

(I'm not use to this type so I would appreciate feedback on how to deal with this!)

Power off and unplug your computer. Change your password on a different computer/device and deauthorize all devices (steam guard). Then plug in/boot up that computer and run multiple virus scans until you're sure its clean. 

[Seminal Inhalation]

1. Don't be a greedy trader.

2. Check the link THOROUGHLY and go on a scamadvising site and scan it.

3. Don't be dumb, no matter how friendly or generous a trader may be they can always pull something from their sleeves.

4. Don't click links.

5. Stay safe and sexy.

[OverduePixels]

Excellent guide for people who are unfamiliar with phishers and scammers.

 

Please pin this up!   

[iPlayer]

1. Keep your Steam login in secret as much as your password

2. Dedicate a separate email exactly for Steam auth and don't use that email for anything else;

Keep this email in secret

3. Use Gmail as your mail service since they support 2 step verification

4. Also remember that your email and Steam passwords must be different and must be unique.

[The Radiated Banana]

I doubt the people going to get scammed or hacked will read this

[Baloo]

http://forums.backpack.tf/index.php?/topic/7952-the-process-of-phishing-and-how-to-not-get-phished

 

Your's is more comprehensive (I think, I didn't read either), but the topic has already been once.