Spotting paid/inactive Steam accounts using common characteristics
A list of characteristics to look out for in profiles when doing any kind of risky trade to avoid getting screwed over.
Your own discretion should always be applied when background checking an account as some accounts might not always fit the criteria below.
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On Steam:
- Recent badge unlocks (legit old accounts tend to have badges unlocked from a long time ago and/or old sales badges)
- Recent TF2 merc badge (some accounts come with old TF2 badges and items so don’t rely on this exclusively)
- If an account has an old TF2 badge, you can check the item’s original ID to see if it was unlocked recently.
On SteamRep, at least one of these:
- A distinct lack of SteamRep history
- A SteamRep history that only goes back a few years (usually only up to 2016 for really old accounts)
- A large gap in SteamRep history (ex: SR history record from 2011 but then the next record is one from 2020)
On SteamID.uk, at least one of these:
- Has had this exact name at least once:
[unknown]
- The default avatar (a question mark). NOTE: Not every recovered account has this.
- Like SteamRep, a big gap in name history or a lack of name history
- Friends going back only a few years (you can see this only if their friends are public)
- A sudden jump in Steam levels
On Backpack.tf, at least one of these:
- A distinct lack of backpack history (going back only a few months or years)
- A backpack that has the same item count/value for a long time but suddenly jumps up in value
On Scrap.tf:
- Recent join date (e.g. joined in 2022 but account is 19 years old)
On VACBanned.com:
- Sometimes the saved nicknames will be the email without the
@domain.com part.
- That email can potentially be searched up on data breach lookup websites and reveal some additional info
- If there is a breach, try seeing if the info you got is completely different from what the user is giving you.
Using search engines (e.g. eTools, Searx):
- Search the ID2, ID3, ID64 and current/previous community URLs.
- Is there any result that suggests they’ve been around for a long time? If there’s no result at all, it’s safe to assume they’ve only been active very recently.
- Occasionally you will find account marketplace threads that directly link Steam accounts they’re selling.