How To Avoid Steam API Key Scam [3 Best Methods]

Steam API key scam involves phishing for a special API key to manipulate and monitor activities within a Steam account, allowing scammers to cancel and replace trade offers with their own. 

As you probably expect, this ends up with the scammer running away with skins without any notice. 

So, I’ve talked with experts to come up with the best ways to avoid Steam API key scam — and here they are!

By Using Trusted Marketplaces Only

You are most vulnerable to Steam API key scam when you use all these shady marketplaces, you know, these sites with weird URLs names, where prices are too good to be true. And well, if something seems too good to be true, there's a good chance it's actually a scam.

That's why I would encourage you to use reliable places to sell CS skins and other Steam items; that is, ones that have multistep protection against various scams, including Steam API key scam. Here are some of my top picks:

Moreover, you might also want to check out a whitelist for third-party Steam item marketplaces. All these sites also feature an efficient account verification process, as well as working customer support, which minimizes the chance of being robbed of your rarest CS skins.

By Verifying URLs for Steam Login Websites

And here's where things start to get interesting — in recent years, scammers have started making duplicates of popular digital marketplaces, and have even taken to promoting them to position high in Google. 

Like, even the interface looks the same, and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Sadly, not in all countries this is considered to be illegal, and this is one of the reasons why Steam API scam is so common and hard to fight.

Still, there are some things you should do to make sure that you always land on the legit marketplace: 

• Always check if the website's name is exactly how it should be in the address bar. Scammers often use URLs that look similar to legitimate ones but with slight differences; they often add things like "s" or use similar letters "l" instead of "i". Shivers went through me as I wrote this, this is just disgusting, but this is what makes it one of the most dangerous CS scams.
• Bookmark your most-used marketplaces. So, by using bookmarks for your favorite, trusted marketplaces, you can access them directly without having to search for them through a search engine. And as I've mentioned, search engines are a place where scammers really sweat just to get to your most expensive CS skins.
• Look for HTTPS. Sure, it's not as bulletproof against scammers, especially when we talk about stuff like Steam API scam, but if the website doesn't have it, it's an instant no-go, and that's what you should know.
• Be wary of "too good to be true" promotions and offers. Again, if some offers are too good to be true, they probably are. Scammers might want to trick you that you just won an amazing knife, all you have to do is sign-up and you will be a billionaire. Well, nope, that's not how it works.

All in all, you really don't want to give away any (!) data about yourself, your Steam account, and your banking account on a scammy site.

Through Revoking Your Current Steam API Key & Generating a New One

However, if you feel like there is even a little chance that your Steam API key got leaked, you might want to delete it and generate a new one.

1. Go to Steam API Key Management settings.
2. Click on "Revoke my Steam Web API Key"
3. And you are pretty much done! Your new Steam API key will generate immediately.

If you combine these with two methods that I've listed above, it should do the trick against Steam API scammers.

However, if you want to maximize your Steam account's security, and protect yourself against other scams, I would also advise you to regularly change your Steam password, and maybe even reset your Steam Trade URL from time to time. Better safe than sorry, as they say!