This guide will give you instructions on what to do if your Steam account has been hijacked.

• Account Security Recommendations
  
  
• Reclaiming a Hijacked Steam Account

http://steamoss.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=337612227

Whenever any of your Steam account credentials are changed or whenever Steam Guard is triggered an email will be sent to your verified email address.

Within the email exists a link which says "Lock your account online". If you've already lost control of your account select it. The next screen will ask you to type the words "LOCK" in the box and then select the button to confirm.



Locking your account will prevent it from purchasing, gifting, trading, activating cd-keys, playing online on VAC enabled game servers, and it will disable Steam Community access. Once the account has been unlocked by Steam Support all functionality will return to normal.

Account hijackers often use viruses and malware to gain access to your Steam account. These can take many forms such as executable (.EXE) files, dynamic link libraries (.DLL files), batch (.BAT) files, script or screensaver (.SCR) files and browser add-ons. No matter how your account was hijacked it's recommended that you secure your systems.

Keeping an active running anti-virus with the latest definitions and an up-to-date web browser is a great way to protect your machine from common threats, however they don't always detect everything. In addition to running an anti-virus you'll want to download a malware scanner.

Malware Scanners:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware[www.malwarebytes.org] - Offers both a free and premium (paid) version.
  
  
• Spybot Search&Destroy[www.safer-networking.org] - This program (free to use) is a very popular spyware and adware removal utility.
  
  For a full list of Valve recommended virus and malware scanners click here.

Run a full malware and virus scan on every machine on your home network in safe mode. Once you've scanned your systems restart and repeat the process to make sure any infections have been fully removed.

• Mac OSX Safe Mode Instructions[support.apple.com]
  
• Windows 7 Safe Mode Instructions[windows.microsoft.com]
  
• Windows 8 Safe Mode Instructions[windows.microsoft.com]

If you'd like to have peace of mind you can restore your system to its factory settings, also known as reformatting. It's an extreme solution but will ensure that your account is safe from any further attacks if your machine was in fact infected.

• Formatting MacOSX[support.apple.com]
  
• Formatting Windows 7[windows.microsoft.com]
  
• Formatting Windows 8[windows.microsoft.com]

Failing to detect and remove the threats from your systems could result in your account becoming compromised again once it has been restored by Steam Support.

Account hijackers can also gain access to your account if you type your login credentials into a fake Steam website. Many of these phishing websites also request that you upload a file from your Steam directory so they can sidestep the Steam Guard authentication.

For information on how to avoid common scams so your account doesn't fall into the hands of someone else in the future read the following resources.

• Account Security Recommendations
  
• Avoiding Phishing Attempts

http://steamoss.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=177244559

Once you've identified how your account was hijacked the next step is to contact Steam Support. Steam Support is not obligated to recover any lost items you may have lost due to your account being hijacked.

Before writing your ticket complete the checklist found on this page to ensure that Steam Support can help you in an efficient manner.

http://steamoss.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=265127337

If you have any questions or comments regarding this guide please feel free to leave a comment below.

You can also check out all of my other Steam Guides here.


http://steamoss.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=239845208
http://steamoss.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=153396149
http://steamoss.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=334896308