Steam gift card scams are one of the biggest scams in the gift card industry. This is because it is one of the hottest-selling gift cards.
Despite several reports of gift card scams, many people are still falling for these scammers. These gift card con artists are deploying several tactics to rob people of their hard-earned money.
This article will show the top 5 steam gift card scams and how to avoid them. Before then, let’s see more about the Steam gift card.
What is a Steam Gift Card?
Steam gift card is a gift voucher issued by Steam, a video game digital distribution service developed by the Valve Corporation.
This gift token is used mainly by gamers and others in the gaming community. It can be redeemed on the Steam platform for credit. This can then be used to purchase games and downloadable content.
The Steam gift card is of two categories; they are physical and e-code. The physical ones are those one can buy in a physical retail store. They are in denominations of $20, $30, $50, and $100.
The e-code steam card can be purchased online from the Steam website. It is delivered through Steam gift card email delivery. e-code steam cards are in denominations of $5, $10, $25, $50, and $100.
A digital steam wallet or Steam account is important when receiving the Steam card’s money value.
Steam Gift Card
Top 5 Steam Gift Cards You Need Know to Know
As stated earlier, there are several ways people are scammed with their Steam gift cards as it is one of the top gift cards. The top of these gift card scams is revealed below.
1. Steam Gift Card Scam with PayPal Account
One of the ways con artists rob people of their hard-earned money is by taking advantage of their PayPal account which is used to make a purchase. An invoice may be developed, showing that you are owing. The balance is being requested in form of steam.
Another trick devised using your PayPal account is that they ask their victims to share Steam gift card codes with the promise of repayment through PayPal. This gift card can be sold or used to make purchases online.
2. Steam Phishing Emails
Phishing is one of the popular ways of scamming people online. Here, scammers impersonate Steam emails and send users phony promotions or discounts.
Once anyone who gets such mail clicks the link in to snag a deal, the credit card data of people are stolen.
3. Impersonation Other Businesses
Your money can also go into thin air when con artists act like businesses, stating that you have issues to be sorted on your account. They make victims purchase Steam gift vouchers and then send them the activation or PINs in a bid to get their account fixed.
Once this is achieved, they sell the gift card online or use it to buy other items and then sell online.
4. Scam involving Steam Gift Card Wallet
The bad guys go as far as devising a means of stealing with your steam gift card wallet. In this method, victims are persuaded to make payments using Steam gift cards.
Victims are cut off once they are about to make payments. Con artists get potential buyers into sharing Steam gift card codes as payment.
5. Scam with Steam Card Trade
There are several platforms and users of Steam gift cards that get people to trade this gift card with them. They end up not holding their end of the bargain.
They may promise to make payments via Steam Wallet codes or digital gift cards to complete a trade. They send fake codes, charge back the gift card, or use stolen credit cards to buy the gift card.
Prestmit is one of the few trading platforms you can securely trade Gift cards
How to Avoid Steam Gift Card Scam
Steam has been working to prevent scams using its platform. However, as a Steam gift card user, there are things you need to put in place to prevent being a victim of scammers. They are listed below:
1. Keep your gift card purchase receipts- This will be of help if you ever find yourself trapped by scammers. Your receipt will be needed when you contact the Steam company.
2. Pay for gift cards with a credit card- When you pay for your gift cards with a credit card, you can reach out to the credit card issuer for help.
3. Don’t buy Steam cards in bulk- It is safer to buy gift cards in bits than to buy in bulk. especially online. This will help to keep eye on the ones at hand.
4. Don’t activate cards unless you’re ready to use them- Your gift cards should remain inactive unless you want to use them. Only gift cards that haven’t been used can be refunded.
5. Don’t share your Steam Wallet codes with strangers- Your Steam wallet codes should not be shared with anyone if you don’t want to end up being a victim of fraudsters.
6. Secure your account with multi-factor authentication (MFA)- As you can secure digital wallets using multi-factor authentication, you can also add layers of security to your Steam account. With this, it is tougher for scammers to hack your account and steal Steam card activation codes or PINs.
Where to Sell Steam Gift Cards in Nigeria
The best place to redeem your gift card in Nigeria is Prestmit. On this platform, you will get the best rate for your Steam gift cards as well as other gift cards. You can check the rate for a Steam gift card by simply selecting “Steam” as a category of gift card.
Traders can sell Steam gift card and several other gift cards using the Prestmit app. The platform offers an intuitive, beginner-friendly interface and 24/7 customer support for your trade.
You don’t have to wait to start using this platform for your gift card. The trading platform is trusted and reliable; not one where you will experience Steam gift card trade scams.
Closing Thoughts
Steam Gift cards are one of the hottest-selling gift cards for gamers and traders. Scammers are, however, not resting as they continue to find means of stealing people’s money. Gift card scams can be avoided by doing everything possible to keep the gift card safe as well as watchful.
