User Warned: inflammatory drive-by
I see the Valve Defense Force is out in full force already. Steam really is one of the worst digital platforms ever.
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I accidentally triggered Steam’s fraud detection and now my accounts are locked
- Thread starter Carlius
- Start date
Sorry, if you're in a retail store, ringing up $50 giftcard purchases one at a time as seperate transactions, and on the fifth time the system reports the card as possibly stolen, what do you think happens?
Because the answer isn't "You just walk out the shop with 4 giftcards"
Suspected stolen accounts are LOCKED so that a stolen account can't continue ringing up fraudulent purchases - this is industry best practice, and I am frankly astonished that that needs to be stated.
If your account is locked due to suspected fraud, most reasonable people would contact the account provider and clarify that the account is not stolen.
Not do the entire thing again on another account.
I'm really not seeing the problem here. Op is engaging in unusual behaviour and the account is locked until it's proven the transactions are genuine.
People explaining how fraud detection works isn't a defence force. Steam is the best digital games platform by a wide margin.
This thread title has been updated to something slightly less conclusive as the situation develops. We can update it again when the OP reaches a definitive resolution.
"Until it's proven the transactions are genuine".
The issue is that Steam is in the bottom percentile of speed and quality for customer service to actually resolve the issue.
Why is it one of the worst digital platforms ever? Because so far it offers the most to consumers and developers out of any digital distribution platforms out there.
But seeing as how you only post in nintendo threads or in threads that threaten nintendo games like the fortnite GOTY one I guess I probably won't get a real answer.
If only someone in this very fucking thread had linked to the public page showing the customer service response times for resolution of various support tickets
OP
OP
The money is stuck in my steam wallet without me being able to use it. I am not eligible for a refund because my accounts are locked. I thought adding money to my steam wallet and then gifting the ganes would be the safest bet, boy was i wrobg. The game is very cheap in my region,its actually more expe sove at cdkeys.
Come back to us when Nintendo and Sony allow digital game gifting. (I know that the Wii had it, but its not on the later consoles)
That's what Steam does tho.
Because Steam automatically refunds suspected fradulent transactions, thus user loses that money and anything purchased with it. Not exactly rocket science.
It would be bad idea to advertise how to beat fraud checks? Real fraudulent users would then wait until Steam says it won't be flagged with next purchase.
There are hourly and daily purchase limits, that you can't go above, OP just hit fraud detection before that.
So when you recover your account you can refund the purchases and no harm done, or gift the purchases as originally intended.
Where did I claim Nintendo's Digital Platform was any good? Although great games like Celeste and Steamworld Dig 2 bombed on Steam and found great success on Switch. That's something I value a lot more than digital game gifting.
believing things that haven't been true for a while is pretty dumb justification.
It exists and it works, but guess its too hard to let go of a outdated dumb meme.
OP waiting for Valve's famously nonexistent tech support to sort things out.
Yeah you wouldn't ever hit this issue with PSN or Eshop
I WONDER WHY
Ah, some shitty dumbass platform warring instead of anything about the actual quality of the platform. Not surprised.
That's a far better thread title, kudos.
Except that's just plain not true?
Personally I'm just thrilled to be in a Valve thread where the dumb meme is about costumer service and not hats. Variety is nice.
See, that's just plain and simple platform warring rhetoric now.
It really shouldn't be filled with either though.
OP
OP
Alao yes i have mobile authenticatir,email alerts and evrything. Maybe am just beibg ignorant to their policy, which is my fault. But not to be warned and outright banned or suspended seems a little over the top.
Steam cuustomer service hasnt responded yet.
Steam cuustomer service hasnt responded yet.
Can we get some "Valve don't make games anymore" joeks for the trifecta?
I once bought 21 gifts of watch_dogs in about 90 minutes and gifted them. I assume steam felt sorry for Ubisoft and let it ride.
I'd imagine that there are different thresholds for multiplayer games prone to cheating, and that gifting them to new Steam accounts is also an important factor.
not only cheating but also more subject to chargeback scams too.
Give me a break. I'm assuming this thread title keeps switching names?
I'd love to see someone try buying and gifting 5 copies to virgin accounts on other services. See what would happen? Such a sensational name change. Maybe the others wouldn't trigger fraud detection, but maybe the would. Either case, anyone with a lick of sense knows this is what's happening. You can debate whether it's too aggressive, but it's clearly fraud protection and the reasons for it are beyond obvious.
Then again, nothing ever changes.
Made the mistake of entering the Valve website redesign where Valve confirms games are in development.
3rd post in, some joker posts a comment how it should have been posted on April Fool's.
On that same first page, an admin posts and completely ignores the thread crapping with zero warnings issued. This would not be tolerated for any other system. So save the throwing yourself on a cross talk.
The safest way would have probably been to let them buy the games themself. Mass-purchasing and gifting a very popular multi-player game, that cheaters and hackers need to rebuy when they get banned, which happens to be cheap in your region too, to brand new accounts looks super suspicious.
You can also still play your games and everything, so it's not like they completely lock you out of everything and once support gets back to you it will likely be fine.
I empathize with you for most of this stuff, but that is the way it should be for fraud detection. If fraud detection isn't at least slightly opaque and inscrutable, it gets identified and circumvented almost immediately.
They really should have responded by now, though.
I believe thats only for accounts with things like chargebacks on games - they lock you out of the specific title that was charged back, but not the account.
I believe a locked account is completely unusable until recovered, which should be in less than 24 hours of a support ticket being opened.
This thread has a specific focus and should not be use to air your general grievances pertaining to Valve or Steam. If your comment isn't about customer service or fraud detection, don't post it.
Are your friends outside of your region as well? With regional pricing that can trip some stuff too.
Nope, Steam doesn't (anymore) have full account locks, you'll always be able to play your games (expect on VAC secured servers for permanent bans and self-locks).
You can't gift outside region anymore. So can't be that.
Do your friends life in different regions? Maybe steam thinks you are buying games really cheap in your region and sell them online for more.
I think you can but only if the price of the other region is within 10%(?) of your regional price. Unless they changed it again.
It was much better before that change... but I can understand where they're coming from :/
I assumed it was a full lock out to stop stuff like fucking with the passwords or screwing up your friends lists or whatever while hijacked.
I believe it's both. First came the regional restrictions where cheaper regions can't gift to other region. After that came this 10% (?) of your regional price
Yeah, community features would be blocked too, but what I meant, in majority of cases, you'll always be able to play your games.
Nowadays it is 10%. The first time it was just that you couldnt trade with certain regions that had regional pricing (mainly Russia as it was triggered by a huge devaluation of their currency) and nowadays they fixed it to a 10% difference, which makes it so that usa and europe cannot gift each others right now due to the strong Euro sadly.
OP
OP
my friends are all new, they tried pubg with me they liked it ( hate it) and they all wanted to make a team lol...however, they didnt have credit cards with them so i told them id buy it for them and gift it. They could have paid cash with another service but friday night i dunno if that would have gone trhough on time and they didint wanna wait till monday.
so i told them how to open a steam account, i would add them and then send the gift. the first two went through, on the third attempt i got the warning.
I went to the other account, because even though i got the warning email notification said the game was received and accepted.
i went to the other account and tried to pass to the other two guys and again, the warning triggered. Then they told me THEY were locked out or the game was revoked, yet, the money was taken, no email saying my acount was locke,d but just a generic message saying fraudulent activity, contact steam support which i did.
i asked for refunds, i was not eligible. i emailed steam support from both accounts and no response yet. I know i dont lose my games, i have been with steam for 11 years (as the badge says), i have over 4 thousand dota 2 items, i have dota 2 plus, ive spent 300 levels on battle pass, NEVER HAD a single issue with them in 11 years, and when i try to gift 5 copies of a game, i get locked out with my money taken away.
its fine, as long as i get my money refunded ill haven o qualms with the system, its being locked out without being able to purchase, trade, etc...i have my life in my account.
so i told them how to open a steam account, i would add them and then send the gift. the first two went through, on the third attempt i got the warning.
I went to the other account, because even though i got the warning email notification said the game was received and accepted.
i went to the other account and tried to pass to the other two guys and again, the warning triggered. Then they told me THEY were locked out or the game was revoked, yet, the money was taken, no email saying my acount was locke,d but just a generic message saying fraudulent activity, contact steam support which i did.
i asked for refunds, i was not eligible. i emailed steam support from both accounts and no response yet. I know i dont lose my games, i have been with steam for 11 years (as the badge says), i have over 4 thousand dota 2 items, i have dota 2 plus, ive spent 300 levels on battle pass, NEVER HAD a single issue with them in 11 years, and when i try to gift 5 copies of a game, i get locked out with my money taken away.
its fine, as long as i get my money refunded ill haven o qualms with the system, its being locked out without being able to purchase, trade, etc...i have my life in my account.
I always find when there's an automatic message after an action, it's best to try it again because you never know the computer system might give a different output the second time.
