Invalid Report: 76561199491666777 - ([TF2] Team Fortress 2 Items)

Scam Report

Report Type: [Rep Fraud] Impersonation with intent to defraud
Virtual item type involved: [TF2] Team Fortress 2 Items

Accused profile: 76561199491666777

Victim profile: 76561197975257709

What happened? Description:

900 items STOLEN IN HOSTILE, INVASIVE ATTACK. My account was HIJACKED by this and another account and they took all my items by impersonating a valve employee! They cut me off from the community, changed my name and account picture and refused to reconnect me unless I "verified" my items with them. I had no idea what was going on but I assumed it was real because -they had control of my account accross all my devices despite my 2 factor authentication!​

Provide Evidence:

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[12:03 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
Case: WCB-427-A5J2
Date: 16.01.2023
Subject: 76561197975257709
Mail: [email protected]
Reason : # Theft of gaming items

# Hello Dear ROCKMANX30! I'm Michelle Taylor and I am Fraud Officer from © Valve Corporation.
# Your account has been temporarily restricted due to an investigation into your account, due to suspected fraudulent activity on your part.
# Additionally, you received an investigation notification to your email ( Since we cannot control your email service, check the message in your SPAM folder )

[12:03 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
Please tell me, are you the account owner?

[12:03 PM]
Professor Polecat:
Haha, no you're not.
What's this about?
wait\
what
happened to my account?

[12:04 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
CASE FILES:

" Jan 9 " YOU PURCHASED AN " Vivi " # on the Community Market
Seller: " Kuroneko "

[12:04 PM]
Professor Polecat:
Im the account owner. Have been since 2004
Im trying to remember what that was. A trading card maybe?
What can I do to clear this up? I have no idea what is going on but I've never cheated in a game, never done anything wrong, I'm a very straightforward pc enthusiast and I can't have a mark against my account if its something I can fix

[12:08 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
We are very sorry that you got into this situation. I'm here to help you. Since the specified item was stolen, we need to investigate and check all your items for authenticity. If upon completion of the investigation it turns out that you are not involved in this situation, your account will be unblocked. Are you ready to cooperate?

[12:09 PM]
Professor Polecat:
Very much so.
Anything you need I can cooperate.
I don't want to lose my games, I have over 300 and have been playing games on my pc for 20 years and I just got a steam deck. This is scary. Aything that could affect my account is very serious.

[12:10 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
I will now provide you with additional information and instructions for additional steps to take before the investigation begins. Are you ready?

[12:11 PM]
Professor Polecat:
Yes

[12:11 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
VERIFICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
STEP 1: PREPARATION
You have to prepare your inventory for verification by legalizing it.

The system requires that you transfer all game items to another account. This is necessary so that we can legalize each item during the transfer.
#1.1 - You can use a trusted person or friend's account as a recipient.
#1.2 - You can use your additional personal account if you have one.
#1.3 - You can ask the investigator to reserve a cloud storage account on Steam for you.
(Choose the most convenient way for you)

When the game items are legalized, the account verification will begin.
STEP 2 - VERIFICATION
Verification takes place in any case, but you need to know the following:

#If you do not transfer the items to another account, they will be deleted during the procedure without the possibility of return.
#The system completely deactivates the content of the account and restores it. The system cannot restore game items due to a different algorithm for each game.

Additionally:
To save your inventory, you must specify a method of reserving game items to an agent. The agent is obliged to take care of the safe transfer.
The recipient cannot use your game items for "sale, trade, gifts" during the investigation period.
The items will be returned to your account upon completion of the investigation (within a few minutes after the transaction is confirmed in the Steam mobile app.) and will have the status [Legal].

[12:13 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
Which of the above options is preferable to you?

[12:14 PM]
Professor Polecat:
This doesn't sound right at all. At the same time however you seem to have taken control of my account...
I don't know if Im being scammed

[12:15 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
Check your email [[email protected]], we have sent you a warning about an investigation on your account for legitimacy and your safety, we have provided you with an agent with whom you can chat via email.

[12:18 PM]
Professor Polecat:
please give me a moment, im busy. This couldn't have happened at a worse time. ;_;
I don't have any email at [email protected] regarding this, did it go to another inbox maybe?

[12:21 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
Check your spam folder, maybe it went there. We cannot control your email service.

[12:23 PM]
Professor Polecat:
Option 1.3. I don't have any other accounts.

[12:24 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
I'm applying to the system, please wait.

[12:24 PM]
Professor Polecat:
You'll find my track record stands as my proof that this was nothing I did.
I've never had a single mark against my account since it was made well over 15 years ago.

[12:26 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
We appreciate users like you and do our best to make our community safer, we apologize for inconveniencing you during the investigation, if you are not involved we will unblock you in 10 minutes. The system automatically created a trade on Cloud Storage. All you have to do is confirm it on your mobile device.

[12:26 PM]
Professor Polecat:
I don't want to lose anything. This is all I have. I'm an amputee, I have severe adhd and games are all I have.
Why did I get a scam warning on my authenticator that you changed your name 3 minutes ago?

[12:29 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
Since your account is blocked and under investigation due to suspected fraud, the system treats all activities on your account as fraudulent. This is a standard system message in such cases.

[12:30 PM]
Professor Polecat:
Are you able to confirm who you are? I know this is just my paranoia but humor me; what is my real name if you're actually with valve and can read my account details?
I just can't be too safe
There. Confirmed. Even if this is a scam maybe I need to let go of this stuff anyway and get a real life. ._.

[12:33 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
The system starts checking your items. Please wait.

[12:37 PM]
Professor Polecat:
My steam account is basically my life. I'm a 35 year old with a lot of medical problems and it would tear me apart to lose anything that's mine. /_\

[12:39 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
Once again, we would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused to you. The system is checking your items, your account will be unlocked soon.

[12:40 PM]
Professor Polecat:
Are you able to get rid of the offending item? I have no problem losing what is bad code or some cheating result.

[12:41 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
Since the system currently legalizes all of your items this is not necessary. Your account will be entered into the database as Legalized and you will not be in this situation again.

[12:43 PM]
Professor Polecat:
Ok
I'm just keeping my steam deck, pc and phone all logged in in case

[12:46 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
Don't worry, as long as I'm here, you're safe. Since you have so many items, it will take some time to legalize them.

[12:48 PM]
Professor Polecat:
Yeah...It would be sorted better and used up more but I only -just- got on ADHD medications in this last year and i'm finding out I have a mess in a lot of games. XD

[12:48 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
Now we'll need to recreate the trade. There has been some error, so you will need to take it again. I'm sorry about that.

[12:49 PM]
Professor Polecat:
Recreate the trade?
There we go. Authorized.

[12:51 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
Thank you very much.

[12:59 PM]
Professor Polecat:
Is there anything more you need from me?
Or is something just processing?

[1:02 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
Unfortunately, it takes time to legalize your items. There is a possibility that we may still need your help in the near future.

[1:02 PM]
Professor Polecat:
ok. im standing by.

[1:03 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
You asked me to read your information. If your information is correct, your real name is Linda Nelson. Your address is 3210 east 6th street. City: Mishawaka. State/Province: Indiana.

[1:03 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
Is this information correct?

[1:04 PM]
Professor Polecat:
I believe you and trust you at this point; It's actually Daniel, Linda is my aunt and the one who payed for the most recent games but yes. It sunk in when I realized you didn't just take my avatar you took my -name- too. XD
And correct. I'm from Indiana. America's largest electronically lit cornfield. XD

[1:06 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
The investigation has begun, please wait 48 hours for a decision by email, thank you.
Your account is unblocked.

[1:07 PM]
Professor Polecat:
How does one get a job at valve anyway? It's kind of my dream but I wouldn't know how to even get started. I'm an artist, I have an incredible voice (I joke that I was bitten by a radioactive narrator) but I thought "find what they lack, offer your services".
I've been described by other tf2 players as "the real life young cave johnson".
Both in voice and personality. XD

[1:09 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
Unfortunately I can't answer that question for you.

[1:10 PM]
Professor Polecat:
Okay, well I'll leave you to your investigation. Sorry about all this. Im dead serious when I say I have -no- clue why this happened.
I've always been very safe with my account, if this being my first problem in 18 years doesn't tell you. XD I need to go and do some shopping. I will still have my pc on and my phone on me in case you need to inquire about any more information.

[1:14 PM]
Michelle Taylor:
Thank you for your cooperation.

[1:49 PM]
Professor Polecat:
When will I get my items back?

[2:23 PM]
Professor Polecat:
I won't, will I. I just made the dumbest mistake ever didn't I.
I was looking for another reason to commit suicide but being robbed -again- just hurts that bad.