Before you confirm a Steam trade offer, check three things: who the other account really is, exactly which items leave and arrive, and whether the confirmation on your phone matches the offer you agreed to. If any of those three looks different from what you expected, do not confirm. Once a trade is confirmed and delivered, Steam says there is generally no way to reverse it, so the minute you spend reading the offer is the only undo button you get.
The partner: the account, not the name
The name on a trade offer is a profile name, and profile names are not unique. What identifies an account is its profile address, not the label on the offer.
Before you accept, open the partner's profile from the offer itself rather than from a chat link, and compare it with the person you have been talking to:
- Profile address. If you traded with this person before or have them on your Friends List, the profile you open from the offer should be the same account, with the same profile address.
- Account history. A profile that looks brand new, has a very low level, an empty or hidden history, or a copied avatar is not proof of a scam, but it is a reason to slow down when the person claims to be a long-standing trader.
- Friend status. An offer from someone who is not the friend you were chatting with, but looks almost identical, is exactly what impersonation looks like.
These checks are our advice, not a Steam rule. Steam's own guidance is simpler: use every detail it shows you to make sure the trade you confirm is the trade you intended.
What leaves and what arrives
A trade offer has two sides: the items you give and the items you receive. Read both item by item, not just the icons: the exact item name, its condition or quality where the game shows one, and the game. Look-alike items with a different quality or wear can make an unfair offer look fair.
Also check the balance of the trade as a whole. Steam supports a trade only when the full value being exchanged sits inside one Steam trade window. If the deal depends on paying later or through another service, that part is outside anything Steam can help with. An offer where you give a lot and receive little or nothing is a red flag, whatever story comes with it.
The mobile confirmation screen is your last checkpoint
If you use the Steam Mobile Authenticator, a trade is not final until you confirm it in the Steam Mobile app. That confirmation window shows details of the trade you are about to approve; Steam says it gives you everything you need to tell whether a trade was redirected.
Treat the confirmation as a separate check, not a formality. Our advice is to compare it with the offer you reviewed in your browser or client: the same partner, the same items on both sides. If you are asked to confirm something you do not remember creating, or a trade you already cancelled, decline it. You can read Steam's description of the trade redirection scam on Steam Support.
Why an offer that "changes" is a red flag
A trade offer you have agreed to should stay the same until you confirm it. Be suspicious when the offer you were expecting disappears or is cancelled, and a new one appears in its place from an account that looks like your partner, or when the items or the partner shown on your phone no longer match what you checked a moment ago.
Steam describes this pattern as trade redirection, which some players call an API scam. Someone who already has access to your account cancels your real trade and sends a near-identical one to an impersonation account, hoping you confirm on your phone without looking. Steam notes that a Web API key is not required for this; access to your computer or account is enough. So a changing offer is a sign about your own account's security, not only about the other trader. If you see it, stop trading and read our guide on checking for and revoking a Steam Web API key, which covers the rest of the lock-down in order.
Hold and escrow notices
Some trade offers show a notice that items will be held before delivery. This is a trade hold, sometimes called escrow. Steam says that if you have not had a Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator on your account for the last 7 days, items leaving your account can be held for up to 15 days, at the time of writing. The hold exists so that the real owner has time to notice and cancel a trade they did not make.
A hold notice is not a problem in itself: the items will not move right away, which gives you a window to cancel if something looks wrong. Be wary of anyone who pressures you to "skip" a hold or change security settings so a trade goes through faster. Steam Support says it cannot modify trading or Market restrictions, regardless of the circumstances. Counter-Strike 2 items work differently: they are delivered at once but are Trade Protected for a limited period. Our page on why Steam holds trades after a security change explains the triggers and lengths.
What to do next
- If an offer looks wrong, decline it and do not confirm anything on your phone. Report the impersonating profile from its ... menu with Report Player.
- If an offer changed or was redirected, treat your account as compromised and follow the lock-down order on our API key scam page, alongside Steam Support's account security page.
- If a trade already went through, read what can and cannot be done about items that left your inventory. Steam's stated policy is that it does not restore traded items, with a narrow Counter-Strike 2 exception.
Never share your password, Steam Guard codes or API key with anyone who says they need them to "check" or "finish" a trade. Steam Support never asks for your password or Steam Guard codes, Steam says an API key should never be shared, and we never ask for any of them.