So you've all heard about scams. There are scammers who do them , and 90% of scammers fail .But those 10% earn a lot .
So the question is how could you protect yourself ?
There is no clear answer . So I will show you a couple of scamms , and my experience with them .

• Link scam (Phishing)
  
• The user has been reported for scamming , beware
  
• The friend scam
  
• Paypal , money scam , account scam .

So you've all encountered a link scam before , and they're easy to see through most of the time .
So how does it work ?
So link scammers usually find you on {LINK REMOVED}♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.com , you post a trade , they add you , and then the bots take over.
So how to recognize a link scammer ?

1. He will have a private profile
   
2. He will have a profile with a game played 2+ years ago
   
3. He won't even have a community profile set up
   
   So what they do is , they add you , you accept them mostly wanting to know what would they offer .So they start talking to you , or just send an already made text . It will mostly be something like :

   Originally posted by Scammer:

   Hey , my friend's friend list is full , could you add him ? Scam link [http//scam+link]

   ORThey will send you a picture of their rare gun on their other acc , will be something like :

   Originally posted by Scammer:

   Hey mate , I have a good offer for your ITEM , but it's on my diffrent account , take a look Scam link [http//scam+link]

   .ORThey will say that they got a picture of you whilst you were playing earlier , Even if you NEVER played with him , and they will send you something like this :

   Originally posted by Scammer:

   Hey mate I got an awesome picture of you when we played earlier . Take a look at it Scam link [http//Scam+link] Hope you like it !

   .So what are the links they send you ? Usually bad copies like :
   • steamcamunity.com
     
   • staemcommunity.com
     
   • steamcomemunity.com
     
   • {LINK REMOVED}steamcomunity.com/profile02518215125
     
   • steamcomanity.com/profile/42197421
   Also download links to some websites like Google.drive.com , Megaupload , kat.ph , torrentbay , piratebay , mediafire . NEVER EVER EVER EVER OPEN THE LINKS IF YOU DON'T TRUST A GUY

So people will add you , with legit profiles , saying they want to trade .
So what is their plan ?
They will send you a trade invite .
They will show you what do they have , and will show you an item that is usually 10+ Euros , USD above your price .
So it all seems legit , but what happens ?
When you press that READY button , steam will alert you that the other person has been reported for trading , and will give you a list of items you will get in the trade .
All seems legit , the item you want is here .
But when you look at that message , the scammer moves his best item , and presses ready again
But how is that even possible you ask ?
Well , steam will give you the alert message, a list , but it doesen't give you a list that updates , it gives you a list of items that you were supposed to get the second you pressed the ready button .
So you press ready , read , accept the trade , and you loose a lot .

How to protect yourself
Just read good , double,triple check everything , and if he rushes you , don't go fast , be slow

So the trade friend scam . How does it work ? A guy will add you saying he wants to trade , BUT , he doesen't have the items in his inventory , and "he has money in his wallet"
Ok , you can try because in 10% cases , they're speaking the truth .

Main part

You name your price , of course you earn some profit , because you ask for an overpay , he accepts it.

Now there are 2 possibilities

• He wants to know is it a doubled item
  
• He wants to know YOU won't trick him and make him buy the item's and then delete him.
  
  So in case he wants to know is it a doubled item .
  
  He will ask from you to trade with a friend , which he has to add in his friend list .
  He adds the guy , but he says he doesen't see the item . So he will ask from you to tell your friend to restart his steam .
  So whilst your friend restarts Steam , he changes his name like yours , his picture like yours , and sends your friend an offer , pretending he's you , wanting the item back .
  So in 50% cases it succedees.
  
  Case when he wants to know will you trick him
  
  He will want to speak with your good friend you know IRL , so your friend can verify that you're a good guy that wont trick him .
  And then he will ask to give your knife to the friend , so he can know if it's indeed a good friend you trust .
  
  So the same thing happens , he can't see the item , he asks your friend to restart steam , and tries to scamm .
  Once again , this succeeds in 50% cases .
  
  How to protect yourself
  
  Get him to take a picture of his wallet , mostly they're lying about it , so he wont do it .
  Ask him for his friend , so you can add him and talk , it's not protecting yourself , just something to buy some time for yourself .
  Also ask for his friend to give him his most prized item .
  Also , arrange a code with your friend when will he give you items , talk with your friend on skype/teamspeak3/razercomms.
  Or simply chat with your friend on your language , this is kinda bulletproof , but sometimes the scammer gets lucky :)
  

This is the most obvious one of them all , he will offer you money for your item , or an origin/steam/gog/uplay account .
First of all , trading accounts is illegal , breaking the policy of all these Game Distributers .
Also , if he offers you a big overpay for your item in PayPal , always try to doublecheck him on various forums / websites and steamtrades.com , and steamrep.com

Also there is a "Wallet Money" scam , which my friends and I call the Money scam .

So a guy will offer you a wallet , but saying you will need to give him more items .
He will write something that looks legit , add some fancy letters and stuff like purchase ID and steam guard and steam staff.
ALL A BIG SCAM
Steam has stated in their policy , that you can't trade Wallets IN ANY WAY . So if you fall for this scam , and many did , Steam wont return you items . Just delete the guy , and make a thread on SteamRep Forum [forums.steamrep.com]

In case you got scammed, tough luck mate .
Your best shot is to stop trading instantly , contact steam support , and scan your pc for viruses , also clear your cookies on your browser.
Make a thread on SteamRep forums , ask for your friends to report the guy , and do as much as you can to return your items .

I also did an experiment with my friends , telling everyone in my friends list that I had a kidney operation , and that my desire to get to a butterfly knife is stronger than ever . So people started donating , and I really got a lot of items , which I returned of course .
But the main part is , some people will lie to you for items . Tell you something bad has happened .
So how to protect yourself ?
Do your research about his operation/sickness , ask him various questions , and if he has a bad story , just tell him you're through to him .

I hope you liked it
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