Recently, fake Steam store pages have been appearing that closely resembled those of genuine games. Steam is finally taking action against this scam.
Perhaps you've already noticed. Recently, fake game pages have been popping up on Steam. This scam affected bestsellers like Palworld and Helldivers 2, as well as the infamous The Day Before, which had actually disappeared from Steam but briefly resurfaced on the platform in the form of a fake. Steam has finally addressed these occurrences officially and is now offering refunds for scammed gamers.
Fake Games On Steam: The Platform Takes Action Against Scams
On March 1, a scam appeared in the Steam shop, enticing users to purchase a fake version of Helldivers 2. Creative Director Johan Pilestedt expressed his frustration via Twitter/X and advised potential buyers to check the reviews before making a purchase.
So, there's apperantly "store dupes" of @helldivers2 with stolen imagery from the game and posing as us, with @ArrowheadGS tags and all! How is this possible @Steam?For all out there that want to get the game on steam: Check user reviews beforehand to avoid being bamboozled.
— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) March 1, 2024
Helldivers 2 is not the first game to fall victim to this fraud. In the replies to Pilestedt's tweet, an employee of Palworld spoke up as well. Two fakes of the monster survival game reportedly appeared on Steam on the same day. Earlier this year, after the official cancellation of the game, there was a fake Steam page for the flop of the year The Day Before.
Some people are impersonating FNTASTIC and made fake The Day Before by u/AssassinczYT in Steam
The scammers follow the same pattern: they hijack the page of an unknown small game and replace all descriptions and images to make them look exactly like the legitimate shop page of the game they are impersonating.
Now, Steam players on Reddit have reported receiving a message from Steam after purchasing one of the fake games.
Steam banned the company that published fake game pages. by u/Kaelrie in Steam
The message reads:
We apologize for the confusion. As it turns out, the game you purchased was not the actual version of the game. Unfortunately, fake versions of games were uploaded to Steam, that shared the same name as popular games on Steam. You purchased one of these fake games. We have banned the company that published them and refunded your purchase. You can purchase the real game at anytime on the Steam Store.
This type of scam shouldn't really be successful on a financial level, because Steam withholds revenue from purchases, sometimes for several weeks, before the gaming companies receive their share.
Nevertheless, users should always carefully verify the software they purchase and download, as such fakes could contain malware. There is reason to believe that the distribution of malware is the primary purpose of the scam.
As Pilestedt already advised: Always take a close look at the store page of the game you're buying. Often, excessively poor reviews are a good indication that it's not the game you actually want to buy. Sometimes, the games are also offered at ridiculously low prices. This should also raise alarm bells for you, especially with brand-new releases like Helldivers 2.