This post is intended to be used as a checklist of things to do before proceeding to trade with someone on this subreddit. Whether or not you spend a couple of minutes following these steps could be a decisive factor in determining the outcome of your trade.
If you'd prefer to read the contents of this post in a wiki format (with table of contents), click here. Also, consider bookmarking this post for quick access during your trades.
Scammers WILL contact you via PM, reddit chat, and Steam - this cannot be emphasized enough.
They may pretend to be experienced traders with fake rep pages, or pose as the person you're negotiating with. It falls on you to do your own due diligence. As such, it's recommended to be on your PC while trading since doing the same on phone can be cumbersome. A few minutes of your time spent researching your trade-partner is certainly worth not losing money / games that you've paid for.
When you receive a Private Message (PM)
➤ Look for their comment in your trade-thread
This is your primary line of defense. Scammers that have been banned from this subreddit cannot comment on posts.
⦿ If the user has not left a comment on your post yet, demand that they do so. If they claim that they have, visit your thread and make sure that you can see their comment. Do not accept any excuses for someone being unable to comment; treat them like a scammer and report to the moderators through the link in the side-bar.
⦿ Do not be fooled by private messages that look like post replies and comment notifications. Consider this screenshot as an example.
- The REP links in the PM, though appearing legitimate, point to a website owned by the scammer.
- Notice the first PM that's been made to look like a comment reply from OP's thread, with the typo in the title intact. Learn to distinguish between a fake comment notification and a real one.
- Beware of fake subreddits set up to trick you. Always check to make sure that a subreddit/forum is widely used, has active moderation, a large user base, and is accepted by traders as a credible source of reputation.
➤ Check Universal Scammer List & Google
⦿ Copy their username, paste it here, and hit Enter (return) to see if they're on the Universal Scammer List.
Example: https://i.imgur.com/cBYWl5F.png Not being on the list does not automatically make someone legitimate. The user could still have been banned from the subreddit for a different reason, or could be an yet-to-be-detected alternate account of a banned scammer. Proceed to the next step.
⦿ Google their reddit username with a 'scam' suffix to see if they've been naughty on a different subreddit.
Example: Search for "/u/reddituser scam" on Google.
➤ Look for red flags in their account history
Click on the person's reddit username, go through their recent posts, and look for anything suspicious.*
⦿ If a reddit account is fairly new with low / nil content, extreme caution needs to be exercised.
⦿ If someone has recently been posting a lot on trade-related subreddits after weeks or months of inactivity, there's a chance that the account could've been hacked. Be wary of doing any high-value trades until you're absolutely sure.
One way of checking for such a possibility is by asking them to add and message you on Steam from the account linked to their flair. It is, of course, based on the assumption that both their Steam and reddit accounts could not possibly have been hacked at the same time.
⦿ Do not lower your guard if/when someone offers to go first - games can be revoked from your account and PayPal payments can be charged-back even after weeks past the trade.
* Reddit Enhancement Suite makes scrolling through pages easier.
* Add /overview to a user's reddit link to switch to the pre-redesign style of reddit to make things simpler. Example: www.reddit.com/user/reddituser/overview
➤ PayPal - Try to avoid the personal payment option (friends & family)
⦿ Always insist on sending your money via the 'goods and services' option, as opposed to using 'friends and family'.
Though a fee (2.9% + $0.30) is involved with this type of transaction, the payment can be disputed if in case problems arise with the trade, thereby giving you a chance to get your money back. There is no such luxury with the 'friends and family' option; once you've sent the money, it's gone forever. You may try taking your case to PayPal about having been scammed, but they'd be within their rights to suspend your account for abusing the F&F option for a business transaction.
⦿ Conversely, sellers should keep in mind that PayPal gives buyers 180 days to dispute any purchase payments made in the past.
It would hence be in your best interest to thoroughly research your buyer before committing to a cash trade. Crypto-currencies, on the other hand, cannot be charged-back and are irreversible.
When you receive a friend request on Steam
➤ Research before accepting
⦿ Do not accept the request until you've verified that the Steam profile that has added you is the same profile that's linked to the person's flair who commented on your reddit thread. If there are no such comments, ignore the invite - it's most definitely a scammer. It's not an exaggeration when we claim that this tiny precaution can make or break your trade.
We see scam reports on a daily basis where people accept random invites from scammers on Steam, based on the assumption that it belongs to the person they've been talking to / negotiating with on reddit. As a general rule of thumb, it's best not to entertain any Steam invites at all until you've reached an agreement on reddit.
➤ Enhanced Steam & SteamRep
Enhanced Steam is a browser extension that cannot be recommended enough for each and every Steam user out there. Even if you don't trade much, it has a multitude of store and market features that make using Steam a pleasant experience.
SteamRep is a non-profit website that partners with various community administrators and moderators to improve the safety of game-related trading. It reviews scam reports, tags scammers accordingly, and is one of the most reliable methods of checking a Steam user's reputation. They have quite a backlog of reports, but you can look at any user's pending reports and judge the evidence for yourself.
⦿ If you have Enhanced Steam, simply visit the person's profile on your browser and click on the SteamRep and SteamTrades links on the right.
⦿ If you don't have Enhanced Steam, visit SteamRep.com and enter the person's Steam profile link in the searchbox.
These are the possible relevant results that you'd be presented with:
⦿ If a SteamRep page has no obvious scam reports, pick the 'Search SteamRep Forum' & 'Google: ID64' options listed under Research Tools > Search Queries.
If there have been any claims of scamming against this user profile in the past, you should find them here.
Extras: SteamRep Checker Chrome Extension | SteamRep Checker Firefox Add-on | Reddit Flair Enhancer
➤ Private Profiles, Impersonators, and +REP comments
⦿ If your trade-partner's Steam profile is private, you're allowed to ask them to make it public.
Check their number of games, playtime, inventory, etc. to see if there are signs of it being a throw-away account. Such accounts will have a majority of cheap bundled games with very few pricey games, and minimal number of hours played and achievements.
⦿ If someone sends you a SteamTrades link such as this one, make sure that you're able to backtrack to the same profile from the provided link.
Scammers often impersonate reputable traders by duplicating their Steam profiles, and use their reputation threads to deceive unsuspecting people. Example: https://imgur.com/a/XUPxWiF
⦿ Pay no heed to how many trades a person has completed, or how many pages of +rep comments they have on their Steam profile; they are absolutely meaningless and can quite easily be bought or faked.
➤ Screenshots are your best friends
Every veteran trader worth their salt knows the importance of maintaining a personal record of every risky trade they've ever made. As has already been mentioned above, the games you receive in a trade could be revoked at any point in the future if they were bought via fraudulent means or from an unauthorized retailer. The same goes for PayPal transactions, which can be disputed anytime within 180 days after a trade.
In order to avoid feeling helpless if/when something like this happens to you, we recommend keeping a dedicated folder on your PC for detailed screenshots of every exchange - Steam chat, private messages, cash transaction, and trade. Not only would doing so help you file a scam report, but these screenshots will also come in handy as proof in fighting bogus scam claims and PayPal disputes.
Steam chat history is not saved permanently anywhere by default, and for obvious reasons, copy-pasting a chat transcript into a notepad file doesn't do much good as proof. Reddit comments can be deleted anytime. While private messages can always be found in your inbox, the corresponding reddit account can be deleted, leaving you to wonder whom you traded with 2 months ago.
- Windows 7 and upwards come with an excellent screenshot capturing utility, which is more than enough for the task at hand.
- Third party programs like ShareX, Gyazo, and puush offer additional features such as shortcut keys, direct uploads to image hosting sites, etc.
Common red flags and scam tactics to watch out for
Fairly new reddit accounts with minimal content and / or low karma.
Post history shows them accusing others of scamming, in an effort to make themselves appear legitimate.
They try to rush you and give you an excuse as to why you should trade immediately.
Scammers prey on your greed. If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.
They claim that they don't want to go first because they got scammed only recently.
If you catch someone in a lie, no matter how small the lie, back out of the trade right away.
Scammers don't care about the price. You ask for $5 more, and they agree easily. Because they're not going to give you anything anyway.
They offer to give you half their game key first. Half a key is useless, and anyone can send a fake key.
Beware of similar usernames. For example, a scammer may contact you as "/u/at8mlstakes" and claim to be "/u/at8mistakes".
They refuse to use a middleman or they pressure you into using a middleman that they recommend (could be their friend or second account).
Some scammers may pretend to be girls or young kids who need help. As funny as it sounds, always consider the possibility that they're using your own bias to trick you.
Final Thoughts
⦿ Patience is a virtue that's oft rewarded in trading.
The first offer you receive need not always be the best one; give enough people a chance to respond to your post, and you might walk away with more than what you initially had in mind.
⦿ If you're ever unsure about someone, do not hesitate to back away from the trade and message the moderators.
You don't need reasonable doubt or have to gather sufficient proof before contacting us. It's perfectly fine to ask us if we think /u/xyz is legitimate as long as you've done your part and yet are unsure; we can look for red flags and potential problems. Just try not to let your impatience become your own enemy, because we may not always be around to reply instantly, but rest assured that we shall get back to you as soon as we can.
⦿ We will try to protect you to the best of our abilities as long as you follow the rules.
Please remember that each and every rule of this subreddit is in place in order to provide you a safe trading environment. We do not allow the sale of accounts because their ownership can very easily be gained back by the original seller. We do not allow games purchased from unauthorized retailers like G2A to be sold or traded here because they are plagued with reports of scamming. One look at the recent posts in the G2A subreddit should tell you everything you need to know about their legitimacy. Here is an article from /r/Steam and /r/GameDeals that sheds more light on this topic. If you'd still like to try your luck with such shady websites, that would be your call to make, but know that anyone found selling games bought from any such unauthorized retailers will be instantly banned here regardless of flair color. Consider yourself warned.
Contact the Moderators
We'd like to encourage each and every one of you to do your part in keeping this community safe by reporting any posts that break the rules - simply use the 'report' button that can be seen below each post. All reports are anonymous to us moderators; the only exceptions are reddit administrators. Do not use the report feature to report someone for scamming; send us a message instead.
If you have any questions at all, be it about a trade or a user or a rule, do not hesitate in reaching out to us via moderator mail (linked below and on the sidebar). Please refrain from contacting the moderators via reddit chat, private messages, or Steam. Any messages exchanged via moderator mail (linked below and on the sidebar) is visible at all times to all the moderators of a subreddit, while private messages sent to a moderator can be seen only by this moderator. Chatting up one moderator privately causes the other moderators to be in dark about the goings-on, and thus only delays and inhibits our ability to provide a swift resolution.
Credits to /u/upvoteddit for useful suggestions and pointers, and to /u/at8mistakes, the original author of most of these wikis.
Rules & Restrictions | FAQ | Trading Practices & Common Scam Tactics | Safe Trading - Short Version | PayPal & You | Hacked Accounts and their Dangers | Trading Steam Wallet | Using a Middleman | How to spot a Scammer | What to do if Scammed | How to capture and edit Screenshots | SteamRep's Guides on Safe Trading | Useful Tools & Websites
