1. There is no such thing as a "pending" ban or Steam admin. Anyone threatening your account is a scammer trying to scare you. Read more.

Ask A SteamRep Staff Member

Discussion in 'SteamRep General Discussion' started by Xenophobia, Jan 14, 2013.

  1. Lava

    Lava Public Relations SteamRep Admin

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    Tagging phishing victims would only further hurt the victim once they get their account back, and there's very little benefit to the community. Pretty much nobody who's about to click a phishing link is going to look someone up in SteamRep before they click it.
    Nasty Zenith and derfy like this.
  2. A Spoon | trade.tf

    A Spoon | trade.tf New User

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    Hey i yehst got scammed and lost my unusal taunt ballonbounser what do i do i!?
  3. Nasty Zenith

    Nasty Zenith New User

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    I'm not able to find it, I may be searching incorrectly but I would like to know what a user would have to do to prove their innocence in the event that a malicious actor creates a report with either html edited conversation or an entirely faked account conversation. Can I get some insight or a link if there's already discussion on this topic?
  4. Nasty Zenith

    Nasty Zenith New User

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  5. Lava

    Lava Public Relations SteamRep Admin

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    They would post whatever evidence they have available. Usually the scammer has some motive to single someone out - either a personal vendetta (someone messing with him, in a few cases) or they're using it to extort items - and that interaction is something the accused could provide in their defense, if available. There are also other things we look for, but we don't publicly disclose how we look for or handle fake evidence, so as to not build scammers a roadmap to adapt from.
    Hidden Content:
    **Hidden Content: Content of this hidden block can only be seen by members of (usergroups: Administrative, Moderating).**
    Nasty Zenith likes this.
  6. ✿NEPTUNE✿

    ✿NEPTUNE✿ New User

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    Hello, I discovered an account that I suspect is the scammer's alt account (the same name account has been banned on the steam rep). what should I do ? Should I write a report to steam rep?
    Hidden Content:
    **Hidden Content: Content of this hidden block can only be seen by members of (usergroups: Administrative, Moderating).**
    I'm not 100% sure this is the same person, I hope someone will help me . Thanks
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 12, 2019
  7. Horse

    Horse Administrator SteamRep Admin

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    No we do not review reports accusing others of being alts of tagged accounts mainly on the reason you gave - you are not 100% sure.
    No evidence of such would only make false accusations. I've hidden both of those URL's so as to not give anyone the idea that they are related either when searching.
    Best thing to do is avoid either if you feel they are not trustworthy.
  8. Super heavy weapons guy

    Super heavy weapons guy Banned on SteamRep

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    Hello i would like some help with my rep that i got when i was hijacked
  9. Horse

    Horse Administrator SteamRep Admin

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  10. Super heavy weapons guy

    Super heavy weapons guy Banned on SteamRep

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  11. Zorro1

    Zorro1 New User

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    Hi there, hope this is the place to ask...
    Real life scam: A person who has +15 years steam account, pretty solid background (full of +rep, lots of trades done) but, apparently from time to time, "goes fishing" scamming people by taking advantage of his reputation and offering PayPal Money or another method besides steam market.
    Needless to say, he/she was consistently bragging about having no bad steamrep at all...

    How could someone report him/her?

    Thanks in advance for your help.
  12. Horse

    Horse Administrator SteamRep Admin

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    Unless you can provide valid proof of intent to defraud/scam then there is nothing you can report.
    You can't just report someone based on the assumption they are bad or assuming they will scam you or someone else.
  13. Pickle Rick is the best

    Pickle Rick is the best New User

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    hi, i was wondering what should i do if i see an outdated appeal that was supposed to be closed a year ago because the person didnt say anything?
  14. Horse

    Horse Administrator SteamRep Admin

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    It will get addressed in due time.. best to leave it be till the Appeals Admins get to it.
  15. Ignatius Vulcan

    Ignatius Vulcan New User

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    So, given the fact I was targetted by a possibly "pending ban" thing (First time in my entire life-time in Steam), I'd like to ask something else.

    So, according to some people, those accounts that talk to you about being worried they reported you and forward you to a "Steam Admin" might be hijacked or stolen.

    The question is, how is it possible for an account, assuming they have Steam Guard enabled and such, get hijacked/stolen in these years were security is pretty high with those accounts?

    Will I ever be in danger of ever getting hijacked, even if I have Steam Guard on, which is supposed to be gold standard?

    What can I do to not ever give any hijacker a chance to even get access to any info I have to access my account?

    Thank you for reading. Sorry if I made these questions, after what happened, I'm a bit more concerned about my account security, like more than ever.
  16. Lava

    Lava Public Relations SteamRep Admin

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    I'm not going to go over all the tricks scammers use, so as to not give anyone ideas, but in most cases, scammers only need 1 iteration of the code to carry out their objectives. If you are asked for your username and password in a phishing website, which you think is real, and then you're immediately asked for your Steam Guard code, it's really not any different from before when you only entered a username and password. The phishing site just asks you to perform an additional step, while still keeping it identical to the real Steam login page.

    Once the scammer has your code, there are several things they do to ensure they keep access to your account. Some of them, like API keys (which less than 1% of the community knows anything about), and some of them, like the trade redirection script, are clever workarounds that are really hard for Valve to inhibit. It only takes 1 time, and the scammer usually gets what he's after.

    The first mistake people usually make is this:
    The level of protection offered by Steam Guard is a LOT lower than most people realize. It just means the scammers have to invest more time and effort into stealing accounts, which slowed them down for a little while, but once they're established, they become just as virulent as 5 years ago.
  17. Soad397

    Soad397 Banned on SteamRep

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    is up to a steamrep admin to give someone a re-appeal?
  18. Lava

    Lava Public Relations SteamRep Admin

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    If, and only if, you have reason to believe the admin mishandled your case, you can submit an appeal review. Per our FAQ, you are allowed to have your appeal reviewed by another admin to decide if you deserve a second appeal, but only in the event of extenuating circumstances. To do this, you must choose one of these reasons, and explain:
    1. New evidence not produced in your original appeal.
    2. Unfair appeal. Note: A different appeal admin will review your original appeal and decide if their is enough to grant you a new appeal.
    3. Other extenuating circumstance at admins discretion.
    Example of new evidence: Reporter was later banned for submitting fake reports/screenshots to maliciously harm people's reputation, supporting your claim to innocence.
    Example of unfair appeal: Appeals admin had a conflict of interest, or mishandled your case (e.g. rejected by same admin who accepted report).

    Appeal reviews are not second appeals, but a petition to request a second appeal under extenuating circumstances. The burden of proof for these circumstances rests entirely on you, and you only get one chance to explain yourself. By design, very few appeal reviews have ever been granted, because they're not intended to contest the admin's decision, but for last-resort accountability in the event an admin didn't follow our policy (which shouldn't ever happen). Disagreeing with the admin's decision, wanting a second chance, thinking the permanency of tags is too harsh, or having a change of heart "for realzies this time" are not extenuating circumstances, even if they're true, and any attempt to argue them will result in your review being discarded and no further appeal reviews allowed from you ever again.

    If you still think extenuating circumstances apply to your case, see our appeal tips for instructions to request an appeal review. Read those tips over completely, and you will find instructions to petition for another appeal.
  19. KillingDead6

    KillingDead6 New User

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    i tried to make a report on a scammer who has already been put on thin ice with decent proof of things that have happened but got shut down fast. how to i prove it properly now?
  20. KillingDead6

    KillingDead6 New User

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    a
    and before anyone says "you reported an impersonator and you should have checked if it's the same person, and you should provide more" i only was able to get what i got from discord and i checked the profile details. it is the same guy he has denied appeals in regards to something that happened in 2013. i need to have a proper answer to this. because he is still at it and i don't see him stopping till otherwise