As the popularity of CS:GO continues to grow, so does the risk of encountering scammers when buying and selling skins. Since 2013, when skins were added to the game, there have always been people trying to get their hands on them dishonestly or steal them from other players. Considering that skins can cost a lot of money, it is useful to know what types of fraud users encounter most often and how to protect themselves from them.
Phishing
Phishing is one of the most common types of Internet fraud. You receive a link by mail or chat where you can supposedly pick up free skins, participate in a giveaway, or receive another prize. In some scenarios, a scammer may offer to take part in a vote and receive valuable skins as a reward. However, the data that you enter on such a site will be given to attackers, and as a result you may lose your account.
To protect yourself, always check the address of the site where you are going to log in using your Steam account, and even better – just don’t click on links received from unfamiliar sources.
Another type of Internet fraud functions in a similar way. To gain access to your account, an attacker may pose as a Steam employee in correspondence in order to convince you to log in to a third-party site or provide your SteamGuard code or profile information.
Remember that in fact, Steam representatives will never ask for your login information. If you are unsure whether a user is providing you with accurate information, contact Steam support directly before taking any action.
Trade Fraud
This type of cheating was especially common in the early years of the game. Subsequently, it became less common, largely due to the security measures taken by Valve, but inexperienced players can still suffer from it. The scammer pretends to be a bona fide user who is interested in an exchange and offers you some valuable skin. However, when you send an exchange, at the last moment he adds some other item instead of the one you agreed on. In a hurry or out of ignorance, you may not notice this and, as a result, give your item away for a useless or cheap skin.
To avoid getting caught, always carefully check the contents of the exchange before confirming it. Regardless of what another user convinces you of, check the cost of the item and its popularity on the Steam Market and other platforms so that it does not turn out that a cheap item is being passed off as expensive.
API Fraud
In this case, the user also ends up on a phishing site, but the attackers do not steal his account data, but the Steam API key, which is used to conduct trades. Using the key, attackers can spoof trade offers that you receive from other users. As a result, your items may not be sent to the person you intended to give them to, and you will receive nothing in return.
If you suspect that your API key may have been compromised in this way, delete it in your account settings and create a new trade link. It’s also worth changing your account password, just in case.
Even if you don’t have expensive skins on your account, it’s always useful to remember precautions so as not to lose your carefully collected collection of skins, or even your entire account with all the games linked to it. Don't be fooled by dubious offers. It’s better to use the services of Lis-Skins.com to purchase any skins you like at very attractive prices.
