HOW TO: Gather evidence for fake middleman scams

Important notes:

*Screenshot everything, every step = screenshot!!!!

*Always try to “bait the evidence” by going along with the accused, and capture all the evidence you can get WITHOUT trading your item. -Screenshot everything!!!!

*Always use https://steamrep.com/tips/pretrade before trading. -Never trade with scammers, and always verify peoples identity.

"Trusted friend scam"
Step 1.
“Bait the evidence”
After you finished discussing the trade details, and the accused says that he wants you to use your friend as a middleman, go ahead and play along, and choose a friend from your friends list. At this stage, there is no intent to scam shown - but proceed with caution.

Step 2.
“Screenshot the middleman in the group chat”
At this time, the accused will most likely go ahead and invite the fake (friend) middleman to the chat. The fake friend very likely has copied your real friends name and avatar. Once the fake middle man arrives in the chat, STOP. TAKE A PICTURE OF THE MIDDLEMAN WHILE HE’S IN THE CHAT WITH YOUR CURSOR OVER THE FAKE MIDDLEMAN’S AVATAR- You should see a pop up box with the information about the profile.
Example of the pop-up in the chat: http://files.f-o-g.eu/feg7b88c47aa7c8g39d33cd930gc31ag

Step 3.
“Screenshot the middleman’s steam profile”
THEN, CLICK ON THE FAKE MIDDLEMANS STEAMPROFILE, AND SCREENSHOT HIS ENTIRE PROFILE WITH THE URL ENABLED, this shows that he has/had the same avatar/name as your real friend.

Step 4.
Continue the conversation, and pretend you were doing something else. Once the middleman mentions you need to trade the item to him to continue, go ahead and screenshot the chat again completely.

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Fake community middleman scams/attempts
Step 1.
“Bait the evidence”
After you finished discussing the trade details, and the accused says that he wants to invite a community middleman to hold the items during the trade. The user has very likely linked a real SR profile of a real middleman, but most likely will invite a fake one. Play along and go with the flow – but proceed with caution.

Step 2.

At this time, the accused will most likely go ahead and invite the fake community middleman to the chat. The fake friend very likely has copied the real middleman’s name and avatar. Once the fake middle man arrives in the chat, STOP. TAKE A PICTURE OF THE MIDDLEMAN WHILE HE’S IN THE CHAT WITH YOUR CURSOR OVER THE FAKE MIDDLEMAN’S AVATAR- You should see a pop up box with the information about the profile.

Example of the pop-up in the chat: http://files.f-o-g.eu/feg7b88c47aa7c8g39d33cd930gc31ag
Step 3.
“Screenshot the middleman’s steam profile”
CLICK ON THE FAKE MIDDLEMANS STEAMPROFILE, AND SCREENSHOT HIS ENTIRE PROFILE WITH THE URL ENABLED, this shows that he has/had the same avatar/name as the real middleman.

Step 4.
Continue the conversation, and pretend you were doing something else. At this point, there is enough evidence, but try to continue the baiting to collect more info!


Fake Steam Admin/Middleman scams/attempts
Step 1.
“Bait the evidence”

After you finished discussing the trade details, and the accused says that he wants to invite a Steam Admin/middleman to hold/verify items. At this point, the accused can already be marked, but “play along” so that you can catch the impersonator aswell -Obviously, it is a scam.

Step 2.
Wait for the fake “Steam admin” to join chat. At this point, if there is any mentioning of item verification or that your items are bugged or duped and that you need to trade it to him – screenshot. Clear cut scam.

Step 3.
Screenshot the fake steam admin’s profile with the URL enabled.