Steam - A Haven for Scammers

For the past month I've been keeping a log of the Steam scam attempts I've received.

For some reason, my account is particularly attractive to them. I get added randomly by these guys, I never have to approach them. It's probably due to some of the nice CS:GO skins I have.

I've been added by 12 scammer accounts over the month.

I have reported each account that has attempted to scam me, and so far Steam has taken no action on _any_ of the accounts.

NOTE: I almost without fail finish my conversations with the scammers suggesting they kill themselves. Please excuse my vulgarity in the screencaps and chat logs :)

I also try my best to waste as much of their time as possible.

Scammer 1: LuckyMan

The scam works like this:

They say they need a player for a CS:GO tournament because a friend dropped out.
They send you a discord invite to a discord server but you have no chat permissions.
Their 'friend' is the admin and is afk right now.
Send you the rules, it's a malicious file with his malware. Nothing too sophisticated.

I reported his account (I didn't save profile links when I started logging these, unfortunately) and uploaded the file to virus scanning sites.

Scammer 2: Bella

This one got interesting.

??Bella:3??: hello,how're u
D1551D3N7: hey
D1551D3N7: I'm good
D1551D3N7: whats up?
??Bella:3??: not busy now? just i have a deal for u
D1551D3N7: I'm not busy
??Bella:3??: i got ban to withdraw items on csgo site,but i have there 600$. Maybe i send your coins and you withdraw items for me?Ofc not free deal,u can take 100-200$ in inventory,its ok for you?
D1551D3N7: Yeah sure man
??Bella:3??: im girl :3
??Bella:3??: but 1 question
D1551D3N7: oWo
??Bella:3??: can i trust u?
D1551D3N7: idk, can I trust you?
??Bella:3??: i mean dont try to fuck me up,because i wont lost 600$ dude
??Bella:3??: sure u can
D1551D3N7: ok
??Bella:3??: good
D1551D3N7: what do I have to do
??Bella:3??: wait,i'll write site
??Bella:3??: https://skinsbeat.com/
??Bella:3??: write in chat on the website Hello Bella and then i'll send coins to u
D1551D3N7: one min my mom needs me for something
??Bella:3??: ok,sure
??Bella:3?? is now Online.
??Bella:3??: are u here?
D1551D3N7: I'll be like 5 mins
??Bella:3??: ok
D1551D3N7: hey Jenya you there?
??Bella:3??: Im Bella
??Bella:3??: :D
D1551D3N7: Mr. Udovitskiy
D1551D3N7: from Mykolayiv I assume?
D1551D3N7: you sir are a total degenerate
??Bella:3??: what?
D1551D3N7: go work in a shoe factory
D1551D3N7: lmao
??Bella:3??: who is mr udovitskiy?
D1551D3N7: you u dumb scammer fuck
D1551D3N7: do you not know your own name?
D1551D3N7: I'm reporting you to the police
D1551D3N7: have a nice day
??Bella:3??: i dont know who is this
??Bella:3?? is now Offline.

So there are no timestamps on Steam chatlogs, but I took some time to find out who owns skinsbeat.com.

Turns out it's owned by a man called Jenya Udovitskiy living in Mykolayiv, Ukraine. Later on I figured out Bella is not Jenya, but instead is someone who's a part of his operation.

He owns multiple sites, including: skinsbeat.com, skinsburning.com, csobey.com, csgorate.pro, skinsfighting.com, spacebet.pro

Here's a nice pic of Jenya on his holidays:

Here's how his operation works:

Jenya sets up the websites.
He advertises his fake site service on various Russian cheating forums.
He gives the links to scammers and they get a percentage for each person they scam.

(This scam with "I can't withdraw from this dodgy website" came up the most.)

Now, clearly my threat of reporting him really rattled Jenya.

He added me on one of his own steam accounts:

EclipsoN[EZ]: yo man
EclipsoN[EZ]: can i ask you something
D1551D3N7: hey
D1551D3N7: sure
EclipsoN[EZ]: How u know info about me
EclipsoN[EZ]: who is?
EclipsoN[EZ]: just wonderful
D1551D3N7: :P
EclipsoN[EZ]: Where are you from
D1551D3N7: I am from Iraq
EclipsoN[EZ]: Because i dont usy my owm info on site
EclipsoN[EZ]: And u find all
EclipsoN[EZ]: just interested how
D1551D3N7: really not too hard
EclipsoN[EZ]: can explain?
D1551D3N7: afraid not
EclipsoN[EZ]: what reason
D1551D3N7: why should I?
EclipsoN[EZ]: Im just need to know where i did mistake
EclipsoN[EZ]: and how random guy can know info
EclipsoN[EZ]: xd
D1551D3N7: Yeah, I'm not going to help you lol
EclipsoN[EZ]: I not ask your help
EclipsoN[EZ]: I just unterested about this
EclipsoN[EZ]: ok
D1551D3N7: You are
D1551D3N7: you are asking for my help in helping you protect your identity when you scam people
EclipsoN[EZ]: Yeah im scam pixels bro,im not abous this
EclipsoN[EZ]: its just interested
EclipsoN[EZ]: So if you dont want explain how its work
EclipsoN[EZ]: bye
EclipsoN[EZ]: good luck
D1551D3N7: how badly do you want to know
EclipsoN[EZ]: its just interested for me
EclipsoN[EZ]: maybe i can do this too like you
EclipsoN[EZ]: so?
EclipsoN[EZ] is now Online.
EclipsoN[EZ]: ok then,bye
D1551D3N7: bye
EclipsoN[EZ] is now Offline.

Steam accounts in question:

http://steamcommunity.com/id/bella3/ (scammer)

http://steamcommunity.com/id/EclipsoN-awp (Jenya)

Scammer 3: restorX

So this one's kinda funny, I just didn't even give it a chance to go through.

I haven't actually played CS:GO in forever.

Also note that some of these guys will add you then leave it a few days before messaging to make it seem like they are a friend, that's what this guy tried.

D1551D3N7: hey
restorX: hello
D1551D3N7: sup?
restorX: we played already so i added you
D1551D3N7: played on what?
restorX: SIESGO
D1551D3N7: when?
restorX: ooh
restorX: some weeks
restorX: rly dude
D1551D3N7: yeah bull
D1551D3N7: fucking
D1551D3N7: shit
D1551D3N7: so whats your scam?
restorX: its your mom
D1551D3N7: link me the scam site dude
D1551D3N7: I'll totally fall for it
restorX is now Offline.

I didn't report this one for lack of evidence

http://steamcommunity.com/id/restorX

Scammer 4: conqueror_91

So this scam is different, but I've seen it a few times now.

They claim to be the owner of a CS:GO gambling site and they can fix the games to make you the winner.

In reality, you're just going to get scammed in the process.

http://steamcommunity.com/id/godofuranus

Scammer 5: JessaNight

This is a repeat of the one above.

D1551D3N7: hey
Jessa Night: How are you? :D
D1551D3N7: hey, whats up :D
Jessa Night: busy?
D1551D3N7: nah, just watching linustechtips
Jessa Night: Oh, okay
Jessa Night: i need someone, who will advert one site , sure i will pay
D1551D3N7: whats the site you're advertising?
Jessa Night: u just need to hold this site in nick for a week http://arena-hunters.com
D1551D3N7: Eh, I'm not interested in advertising sites on my name
D1551D3N7: how much would you be paying anyway?
Jessa Night: 20$+
Jessa Night: you can add site on your bio steam
D1551D3N7: ok, can I ask you something?
D1551D3N7: Where did you get my steam from?
Jessa Night: yep
Jessa Night: l.a
Jessa Night: you?
D1551D3N7: l.a?
D1551D3N7: I need to know because a lot of people add me and I've no idea where they are adding me from
Jessa Night: i need help promote site, cuz i'am work here
Jessa Night: i'am disigner
Jessa Night: Maybe you can hel pe
Jessa Night: me*
D1551D3N7: I can't, I'm sorry
Jessa Night: np
D1551D3N7: I just wanna know where u got my steam though
D1551D3N7: like why did you choose to add me
D1551D3N7: out of everyone else
Jessa Night: cuz you have skins lol
Jessa Night: do you check site
Jessa Night: ?
D1551D3N7: yeah I saw the site
D1551D3N7: I'm not interested, sorry
Jessa Night: somtime i can choose winer on site
Jessa Night: if you want i can show you
D1551D3N7: oh god
D1551D3N7: not this scam again
Jessa Night: LOL
D1551D3N7: seriously does that scam even work lmao
D1551D3N7: you're the 20th person to try it on me

http://steamcommunity.com/id/LauraRobbe/

Scammer 6: DM

This one was trying to impersonate another Steam user.

His profile has some hilarious language in it as well.

If you look at his username history, he has tried to impersonate different users under this account.

D1551D3N7: hey
DM: hello my friend.
DM: are you busy my friend?
D1551D3N7: no not at all
D1551D3N7: whats up?
DM: ahm. btw i added you here for a trade bro.
DM: are still open for it?
D1551D3N7: what trade?
DM: your knife bro. are you willing to trade that ro?
D1551D3N7: no
DM: ok so what are you willing to trade bro?
D1551D3N7: nothing
D1551D3N7: everyone's a scammer as far as I can tell
D1551D3N7: like you are pretty blatant might I add
DM: what? so your accusing me that i am a scammer?
D1551D3N7: changing your name to [OPSKINS] Bot
D1551D3N7: yeah
D1551D3N7: I am
DM: that is what you mean ?
DM: changing my name to opskins? what is that?
D1551D3N7: you tried to impersonate an OPSkins bot
D1551D3N7: you're fucking retarded
D1551D3N7: don't play dumb
D1551D3N7: lmfao
D1551D3N7: also the comment on your profile says you're a scammer
D1551D3N7: and you talk about scams on your description
D1551D3N7: you're retarded bro
D1551D3N7: just off yourself

This same guy came back later under a different account doing the exact same scam.

He also had the account from the previous scam added which is how I knew it was him.

http://steamcommunity.com/id/Damian0ffcially/

http://steamcommunity.com/id/765611193860474869

Scammer 7: pinansandan

I wasted this guy's time a lot, but it's the same scam as Scammer 2: "Help plz cant withdraw from this site"

D1551D3N7: hey
pinansandan: hey bro
D1551D3N7: not much man
pinansandan: can you help me
D1551D3N7: sure what with?
pinansandan: I have problem on csgo flipcoins site, i won 560k coins, its worth 500 dollars, but i cant withdraw because i have tradehold if i send
this coins to you, can you withdraw it? you can take like 60-80$ item for you
D1551D3N7: oh thats unlucky
D1551D3N7: sure thing man whats the site?
pinansandan: https://luckycoins13.com/ in this site
pinansandan: reg and type in chat smth i send for you coins
D1551D3N7: ok one min man trying to logj
D1551D3N7: login*
pinansandan: ok bro
D1551D3N7: it's taking a long time to load
pinansandan: i am waiting
D1551D3N7: ok I'm in
D1551D3N7: transfer the coins to my account
pinansandan: write in chat pls
D1551D3N7: I did write in the chat?
D1551D3N7: I'll do it again
pinansandan: sec
pinansandan: i didnt see
D1551D3N7: is it broken?
D1551D3N7: you try type in chat
pinansandan: bro
pinansandan: are you reg?
D1551D3N7: yeah I logged in and everything
pinansandan: write in chat hi
D1551D3N7: done :)
pinansandan: i didnt see you
D1551D3N7: are you seeing messages in the chat?
D1551D3N7: I cant see any
pinansandan: log in on the website in the upper right corner there is a button
D1551D3N7: I did?
pinansandan: what?
D1551D3N7: I logged in on top right
D1551D3N7: and typed in the chat
D1551D3N7: that's what you said to do right?
D1551D3N7: I'm sorry bro, if you want I can send you one of my knifes?
pinansandan: established a trade link ?
D1551D3N7: yeah
D1551D3N7: ages ago
D1551D3N7: actually I've got a better idea
D1551D3N7: why don't you go to your mum's cupboard
D1551D3N7: get a large bottle of vodka
D1551D3N7: and go shove it up your arsehole
D1551D3N7: piece of shit
pinansandan: STFU
D1551D3N7: HAHAHAH
pinansandan: PEACE OF TRASH
D1551D3N7: oooh arent we one to talk
D1551D3N7: stupid russian kids lmfaoooo
D1551D3N7: also its piece of trash not "peace" of trash
D1551D3N7: you know CSGO skins won't make you better at CSGO
D1551D3N7: and no amount of money can fix the fact that you are retarded

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198070073380/

Scammer 8: KYSF

All the scam sites I've been linked to were registered in Russia and all were under two months old.

D1551D3N7: hey
KYSF: Hello, bro
D1551D3N7: hey whats up
KYSF: Sorry, I was afk
KYSF: Do you have 1 min?
D1551D3N7: yeah sure
D1551D3N7: I've to go in 5 tho
KYSF: Good. Do you know about cases for csgo?
D1551D3N7: yeah
KYSF: Look, I have promo code for casesdrop, this code can give 5$ and you can open cases for free. And, also, this code can give me 2$
KYSF: What do you think about it?
D1551D3N7: whats casesdrop?
KYSF: This is site where you can open cases like in csgo, but with better chance to win something cool
KYSF: So?
D1551D3N7: looks like a dodgy site
D1551D3N7: tbh
KYSF: Why?
D1551D3N7: registered 2 months ago
D1551D3N7: in russia
KYSF: What's wrong?
D1551D3N7: https://steamcommunity.com/app/730/discussions/0/1291817208494802557/
D1551D3N7: So yeah fuck off scammer lol

http://steamcommunity.com/id/scopyy/

Scammer 9: anton_pe1ss

This is a different network of scam sites: Domains: cstakewin.com, csfirewin.com, csbetshigh.com, cswinrich.com

anton pe1ss: hi dude are you here?
D1551D3N7: hey
D1551D3N7: whats up?
anton pe1ss: i have deal for you
anton pe1ss: Im looking for a partner to make money in csgo gambling site where Im an admin
anton pe1ss: also, i can prove that i am real admin
D1551D3N7: ok
D1551D3N7: what do I have to do?
anton pe1ss: i explain
anton pe1ss: http://cstakewin.com
anton pe1ss: to prove you choose some player and give me his nickname, i'll make him win pot
anton pe1ss: not below 10%
D1551D3N7: ok uhm
D1551D3N7: DEDENNE
anton pe1ss: oke
anton pe1ss: one more ?
D1551D3N7: sure
anton pe1ss: who win ?
D1551D3N7: same guy
anton pe1ss: for dealing you bet some skins I make you win pot, winning skins we share me 40% to your 60%
D1551D3N7: why me?
anton pe1ss: I need random people because all my friends appears on the roulette too often and it creates doubts
anton pe1ss: as im an admin I cant bet myself
anton pe1ss: https://gyazo.com/07b71a44015544251fac867eff1308e5
anton pe1ss: screenshot how i pick
D1551D3N7: so you cant bet yourself but it's okay for you run a completely rigged game?
anton pe1ss: admin panel;
anton pe1ss: i dont have acces for database
anton pe1ss: so need partner to make profit
D1551D3N7: I see
D1551D3N7: interesting
anton pe1ss: go next pot ?
D1551D3N7: can I not keep 100% of the pot?
D1551D3N7: and give you 0%
anton pe1ss: i want 40% of ur win
D1551D3N7: why should I give you 40%
anton pe1ss: lol
anton pe1ss: mayb coz i did u win ?)
D1551D3N7: oh yeah
D1551D3N7: maybe
D1551D3N7: maybe
anton pe1ss: make deal?
D1551D3N7: how about I get 90%
D1551D3N7: and you get 10%
anton pe1ss: dude
anton pe1ss: cmon
anton pe1ss: stop wasting my time
anton pe1ss: if not interested
D1551D3N7: ok ok I'll give you 30%
anton pe1ss: did u lkogin in ?
anton pe1ss: go this pot ?
D1551D3N7: not yet
D1551D3N7: do we have deal?
D1551D3N7: me 70% you 30%?
anton pe1ss: oke
D1551D3N7: hmm weird
D1551D3N7: login isnt working
D1551D3N7: it's giving me an error
anton pe1ss: oke man
anton pe1ss: cya
D1551D3N7: haha kys
D1551D3N7: you stupid scammer
anton pe1ss: idiot kid
anton pe1ss: u thin k ucan wasting m ytime
anton pe1ss: or trololing me
D1551D3N7: ur the faggot spending all day
anton pe1ss: fucking son asshole
D1551D3N7: trying to steal just 100$ worth of skins
D1551D3N7: lmao
anton pe1ss: look at u on avatar
anton pe1ss: omfg god
D1551D3N7: hahaha
anton pe1ss: ahahah
anton pe1ss: black idiot
D1551D3N7: at least I have chest hair
D1551D3N7: u faggot
anton pe1ss: ahahahah
anton pe1ss: ahahahaha
anton pe1ss: fuuu
anton pe1ss is now Offline.
D1551D3N7: LOL

http://steamcommunity.com/id/pettiisss/

Scammer 10: 21 Savage

Again, a different network of sites but it's the same scam: discordapp-addons.com, hyper-skins.com, cs-tournaments.com, factory-skins.com, skins-battles.com

21 Savage: hi
D1551D3N7: hey
21 Savage: how are you?
21 Savage: can we discuss?
D1551D3N7: I'm good
D1551D3N7: discuss what?
21 Savage: well
21 Savage: can i ask you for some help?
21 Savage: please
D1551D3N7: sure
21 Savage: the thing is
21 Savage: i have 700k coins on a gambling site but i cant withdraw them because i have trade hold :>
21 Savage: can you help me with them?
D1551D3N7: oh thats a pity
D1551D3N7: whats the site?
21 Savage: http://hyper-skins.com
21 Savage: i can send you the coins, buy something for 500k coins for me
21 Savage: and if you help me you can keep rest 200k
21 Savage: but
21 Savage: please dont fool me, thats my last money
D1551D3N7: ok dude
21 Savage: thank you
D1551D3N7: why dont you take your retarded scam
D1551D3N7: and shove it up your ass
21 Savage: ???
D1551D3N7: you scumbag
21 Savage is now Offline.

http://steamcommunity.com/id/4567824527254874341/

Scammer 11: GetThemOn

This one happened just as I was typing this up.

Again, trying to impersonate another account http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198351060008

This account is actually a bot account for a CS:GO site, Drakemoon.com, which seems to be as legitimate as CS:GO sites get, really.

Mid-conversation he removed me as a friend and added me again to try make it seem like he added me from the other account.

D1551D3N7: hey
GetThemOn is now Online.
GetThemOn: hey
GetThemOn: sup
GetThemOn: are you interested to trade/
GetThemOn: your ? StatTrak™ Shadow Daggers to my ? Flip Knife | Marble Fade
GetThemOn: check my offer https://steamcommunity.com/id/D1551D3N7/inventory/
GetThemOn is now Online.
GetThemOn: mate
D1551D3N7: yeah
D1551D3N7: sounds like a good deal
D1551D3N7: that is, if u had any fucking items
D1551D3N7: you scumbag
GetThemOn: ?
GetThemOn: this is only my negotiating account
D1551D3N7: yeah yeah
D1551D3N7: bull
D1551D3N7: fucking
D1551D3N7: shit
GetThemOn: k
GetThemOn is now Online.
D1551D3N7: ?
GetThemOn: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198351060008/inventory/ [url
D1551D3N7: dude
D1551D3N7: did you just remove me as a friend
D1551D3N7: and then add me again?
D1551D3N7: LMFAOOOOOOOO
GetThemOn: what?
D1551D3N7: cos thats not your account
GetThemOn: lol its online
GetThemOn: right now
D1551D3N7: so?
D1551D3N7: add me on it
GetThemOn: its mine
GetThemOn: do you like to trade or nah?
D1551D3N7: add me on it if its your account
GetThemOn: yes i can add you
GetThemOn: can i have your trade link so that i can easily send my trade offer
GetThemOn: what now?
D1551D3N7: add me
D1551D3N7: on the account
D1551D3N7: you claim to own
GetThemOn: okay your not listening
GetThemOn: bye
GetThemOn: wasting time
D1551D3N7: kys
GetThemOn: bitch
D1551D3N7: u dumb mother fucker

Spotting Scammers

1. 99% of people who add you randomly will be scammers - don't trust a single word they say.

(Two more scammers. A CS:GO gambling admin who only has 23 hours on CS:GO and no skins and the other one is an impersonator of a gambling site bot)

2. To view someone's inventory click the button on the right panel, not one provided on the profile description or ones they give you in chat. If they are different you can be sure it's a scam.

3. Anyone messaging you about external sites betting or otherwise - total bullshit.

4. To get someone's profile link from the chat use the drop down arrow, not links they give you. If they are different it's a scam :O

5. Just because an account has a lot of hours, a high rank, friends and all that doesn't mean much. Steam levels aren't too difficult to attain, you just need to do some "tasks" and get badges. I was surprised with how much effort was put into setting up some of the accounts.

Conclusions

I know that Steam shouldn't have to accept responsibility for people who get scammed but the very least they could do is ban the accounts that are clearly scamming.

The scammers know that Steam won't ban their accounts at this stage and as a result they have become a lot more brazen, many of them are using personal accounts with many hours and lots of money put into them.

Steam should be able to flag certain domains that appear in chat or on profiles.

I'm not entirely sure what the issue is. Is support understaffed? I submitted one report via a support ticket and I got a response within a few days but no action was taken.

Some of these cases are really straightforward - it's blatant from the persons profile if they are impersonating someone - and still no bans.

At the end of all this I'm pretty fed up with Steam's lack of effort to stop this shit.

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freedomnation (57) 7 years ago

One day we will hopefully have transparent blockchain-runned gaming platform. If there is no project yet I am aware of.

Steam is full of scammers but it's still a good platform, the best out there.

$0.85

10 votes

dwinblood (75) 7 years ago

Hey I chat you.
You follow this link
Send Steem
I give you good case with good stuff
You go?

Couldn't resist

$0.00

2 votes

charris88 (25) 7 years ago

I FREAKING LOVE THIS!!!!! I'm new here and found this the best freaking story I've read, sorry for your bad luck, but damn these are hilarious! I have to vote you up! Not funny for scam but funny how you approached them all. Why is nothing being done by YOU STEEM?????

1 vote

d1551d3n7 (28) 7 years ago

Just to be clear I'm talking about Steam here not Steem haha, but glad you liked it. I was getting lots of these guys adding me and I figured why not.

haha. opps. I'm new here buddy and really got a kick out of your approach! Keep up the good work and give em hell!!!!!!!

capt (27) 7 years ago

This is high quality content!

These days if I get an invite I check to see what level their account is. I also check to see if their profile is private or public. Using that information I either don't accept the request, etc. If they are level 1 or 2 and apparently own almost no games I won't accept them.

The exception is people I was expecting to friend me that may be new to steam.

dontwannasignup (25) 7 years ago

You could try reporting them on steamrep.com.

That's not the point though, Steam should ban their accounts. People shouldn't have to depend on an external site.

dontwannasignup (25) 7 years ago (edited)

Perhaps, but if you're looking for a place to report them to make any kind of meaningful impact, it's worth a try.

Profile reports just increment a counter for Valve to look at it. Since so many vindictive kids and streamers from CS:GO mass-report people over nothing, reports of actual scams tend to get drowned out for all but the most active scammers. You should still report from the profile either way though.