Even as someone with a good instinct for avoiding malicious content on Steam, a sneaky hacker still managed to skate past my radar and seize my account. And while they tried to change my account information to lock me out, I used a few tricks to recover my stolen Steam account and regain my precious library.
Immediately Go Through Steam’s Account Recovery Process
My first order of business was to follow Steam’s account recovery process. I still had access to my Google account, so I hoped it was just a matter of sending an email to take back control. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, but if you suspect your account has been hacked, you may still have time to take action.
As it turned out, my situation was worse: the email I had linked to my Steam account had been changed, so recovering through my email wasn’t an option.
Scan For Malware
One bit of advice Steam recommends is scanning your computer for malware, which is always a good idea. At this point, I was formulating an attack of my own, but I wasn’t comfortable enacting it just yet. First, I needed to confirm I didn’t have akeylogger infecting my computer(or some other type of malware) by running my antivirus software.
However, we both know that your money is needed for more Steam games, so I recommend usingWindows' built-in antivirus scannerand runningaMalwarebytesscan for good measure—both are free to use. Should you avoid scanning for malware, you’re running the risk of your Steam account getting hijacked a second time. If you find any malware on your system, remove it, restart your system, and then run the scans again.
It’s important to run a few passes to catch anything that isn’t caught the first time, or is removed and returns. If you find the malware is persistent, you may have a major problem, alongside the fact that your Steam account was stolen. Furthermore, don’t forget that somemalware is harder to find than others. Eitherway, you need to make sure your system is clean before progressing further with the Steam account recovery, or switch a known-clean device.
If Your “Clean” Device Keeps Getting Malware, Here’s How to Fix It
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Create a New Steam Account
With my computer scanned and my unwelcome guests eliminated, I felt comfortable moving onto Phase 2: creating a secondSteam account. This isn’t to immediately replace your old Steam account. No, you need this new, temporary account to specifically contact Steam Support, as without an account, contacting Steam takes longer.
If you want to use the same email you used for your hacked Steam account, you totally can. However, I want to stress this enough: secure your email account beforehand. If it’s how your Steam account was compromised, like I suspect mine was, then your email could be attacked again, and your time will have been wasted. Go all out by changing your password,turning on 2FA, and adding a recovery phone number to your email.
Hackers Hate These Email Settings—Turn Them On Now
Don’t make your emails an open door that’s too easy for hackers to resist; enable these settings now.
Open a Ticket With Steam Support
Now that I had a new burner account, I followed the same steps for recovering my Steam account the typical way, but I now had a new option. You will, too.
It’s here where you need to be as thorough as possible in proving you are the owner. Do you have a receipt that proves you bought a game with your debit or credit card? Steam sends you one in your email when you make a purchase. Attach it as an image. Is your phone number connected to your Steam account? Was it a link that led to the hack, and do you remember their username? What was the original email or any email of yours that was connected to the account before? No detail is too small.
At some point, I changed the email for my Steam account, but I still have access to the old one, so I shared both. And since I never deleted the receipts from Steam in my email, I was able to share an image, along with the invoice number, which is also listed on the receipt.
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Securing Your Account Against Future Attacks
To reduce therisk of losing my Steam account again, I tookextra precautions to secure itagainst hackers. It isn’t enough to know how to spot threats—you have to use the tools Steam gave you and, in one instance, avoid a feature it does provide.
Within a few days, I recovered my Steam account, and to my surprise, everything was in order, except for the need to update my personal information. By acting quickly and not panicking, I not only saved my account from a worse fate, but also others as well. It’s only a matter of time before your account is used to victimize others.
