Help! Steam Account Hyjacked

My Steam Account has been Hijacked and I can't get to the Support page unless I sign in and I can't The Hijackers have changed my Password and Email. Does anyone know what I can do?

See if this helps... The links there take you straight to what you need to do.

Recovering a Stolen or Hijacked Account

Also I have my account set up using second code that is sent to my phone. I have to enter that before I can log into my account

I did two step log in quite some time ago too.

How to do 2nd. Code for steaming

Hi Grey,

What I have read on Steam says:

First scan you're PC
Than change the pasword of you're E-mail account
and than change you're Steam Pasword.

Good luck with it!

Many thanks all for the reply's.

@Draclvr
Thank you. I am going to do that now.

@Winfrey
I had actually made sure that Steam Guard was active last week when I had a suspicion that someone was messing with my account when I received an Email from Steam saying that my Password changed. I thought I was lucky then as I immediately got back in my Account and changed my Password and also changed my Email Password as they suggested. Then I made sure that Steam Guard was active. Funny thing that even though it was marked active I have never had to do 2 steps to sign in.

@FlyingDutchman42
I did try that which worked last week but this time the hacker was so fast he immediately changed my Password, Email, Phone Number everything needed for me to Log in to change anything.

When trying to use Steam Support suggestions to restore my account...they always asked for me to sign in which is impossible now.

GreyFuss, I sure hope you can get this sorted out and get your account back. This is my worst nightmare, worrying that this could happen.

I hope so too Oldbroad. Of course I haven't heard back from Steam yet on the problem and I don't suppose I will hear anything for several days or more. If they can't restore my Account and the Hundreds of dollars worth of games I will not be using them anymore as this problem of hackers easily stealing accounts is something that they haven't made harder. I hope thats not the case as I would miss out on so many future games but I guess I will get over it.

Hello Grey,

Can't you yust deinstall Steam , change the pasword of your e-mail,
reinstall Steam,and than create a new account?
For example I have two accounts on the same e-mail address.
Use a new pasword for Steam and from there ask for support?
(I have deinstalled and installed Steam more than once over the years,
with no harm to my game library )


Good luck now, Robert.

I hope they can help you GreyFuss, any chance you have a Steam folder with their emails for the games you purchased?? Perhaps if you sent the info from one that has your login name and invoice they could associate it with our account?

So sorry to hear this, Greyfuss!

i am sorry about this too greyfuss, i hope you get it straight out.

Hurray.....Steam is back...Steam didn't take long at all to recover my account!

All my games are back. But here is what is now confusing me...I had Steam Guard activated before the Hijack and that didn't help. Further reading tells me that Steam Guard only sends an Email Key when the Account is being activated by an unknown device...why can't they have a code sent every time I Log in as this would certainly be better than only from an unrecognizable device. Although inconvenient for me I would gladly do it every time in addition to using my Password for double protection to help prevent this from happening again.

It didn't help stop the hijacker as they must have simply tried to use my screen name, visible when posting in their discussions, selected they forgot their Password, then selected they no longer have access to their original Email and they have a place to type in a new Email in which they send a new Password. So the Steam Guard only is protecting from someone trying to log in from a device that Steam doesn't recognize as me...evidently the hackers can circumvent that easily so I am not holding out much hope that this won't happen again. I have changed my Password and my Email associated to my Steam Account though. I think I will stay away from Posting in Steam discussions as I am guessing thats where they at least got my Account Name as I had Posted several times in the Dark Hope discussion board.

Thanks for all the encouragement and support and thanks to Steam for addressing and fixing this so fast

Extremely pleased for you GreyFuss !!!!

Thanks Mad, I am pleased for me too

Very good news GreyFuss!

One problem with their two step thing is that some people do not have cell phones and/or do not know how to use them for that purpose

Thank you Oldbroad. I am one of those without a cell phone but they do have an Email option. But I don't see a two step thing. Do you mean there is a two step sign in/log on security feature?

I also do not have a cell phone, that I know how to use very well anyway. I think they text you a code or something.

Winfrey posted a link way up above about how it works.

Thats my confusion...even with Winfreys Link it does say that Steam Guard will send you a Code that in addition to Logging in with your Password you have to use each time you Log in to Steam. Which says to me, each time I Log in I will need 2 types to get to my account but when I look at Steam to set this up I only see this option for Email...



So, if I sign in on my my same computer I won't get a Steam Guard Code because its not a New Computer or Browser. This is what I had before the hack but it didn't help. I had received Emails that I received for no reason of mine a week ago or so saying that something like they had received a request to change my Password, which I didn't so I went in to manually change it because I thought it to be suspicious. This was the second Email I received so I changed my Password. Must have been the first attempts of the Hacker. I thought I was cool until they were successful. This time I received the same Email stating that my Password was succesfully change and almost immediately another Email came that I had successfully changed my Email. So both of these blocked me completely from getting back in. In the Emails they even gave the IP address of whoever changed it so I hope they can Block them from Steam Permanently.

Does anyone have a Steam Account protected by Steam Guard that they have to sign in with their Password, wait for an Email or Phone Text with a Code to complete the Log in every time they try to get on Steam? This seems like the perfect way to protect ones account as the quote above states it only comes when logging in from a new computer or browser. Maybe its different with the Steam Guard phone Text option...anyone?

My heart just sank as I went to sign in to Steam it didn't recognize my new password but I was able to use the Forgot Password button and they sent me a Steam Guard Code to get in and change the Password again.

How to I have to log in with a code each time. Look at the link and try it . This works for me..... Glad you got your account back....

Hi Miss Winfrey

I did see that but this is what confuses me. First...do you get your Steam Guard Code in an Email on your computer or through an App on your phone?

I get mine as a text on my phone. I read if you have a problem getting an email your security on your email might be set to high. You should get one every time. Hello GreyFuss!

Yeah...I am not like all you young folk and have one of these new fangled phone.

Did you have to download a Steam App on your phone to get the texts?

According to what I have read and seen, Code by Email only comes when you try to log in from a new device, something different from the usual not every time.

These are the options I see:



It does say that using your phone with the App is the "Best Level of Account Security"
I don't get why they can't also have this higher level of security for Emails too.

Yes, you can get the code by email which is what I do. And, no, you don't need an app if you use your cell phone... you just get a text with a code. I get a code every time I log in, but it also happens when you haven't logged in for awhile. Don't know what the time period is though.

I'm just glad you got your account back!

And you KNOW I am older than you and I have a cell phone! Even my completely and totally technologically challenged husband has one!

You see this is where I get confused. I have Steam Guard set up for Email and I don't get an Email when I Log in. I Log in with my Password only and the explanation for the Email only Option is that a Code won't be sent unless I am logging in from a new device. I am assuming that you have both Phone and Email checked off in your account Drac.

I really don't get how guys can haul around those big phones. Can't put it in your back pocket because the phone would break when sitting down, can't put it in the front pocket because the phone would break when sitting down, can't put it in a shirt pocket because it would fall out and break. LOL I don't like carrying anything in my pockets. Its plenty enough for me to have a wallet, keys and chapstick. I would have nowhere to put these big phones now a days. plus I only need a phone for emergency so I also don't see why everyone in the world has one. Now if they went back to a convenient flip phone size I may be interested.

That's why my husband has a small $70 smart phone which he carries in a holder on his belt like this.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075KKKNHV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Since I just logged in to my Steam account earlier, when I just tried again, I did not get two-step authentication. I have no idea what that time period is if you haven't logged in for some time that you will need a code. Again, this is for the email notification which is what I use.

I have a iphoneSE and it fits in my front pocket... 5" long....

So you don't have a two step Log in for Email then right Drac. So what I have is all they offer for Security with Email. I would think that if you tried to Log in from say a friends computer it would send an Email with a Steam Guard Code because Steam does not recognize it. So this option is still only a Password Log in, vulnerable to hackers which is what happened to me. If I did have a phone then I would think that their Steam Guard Phone App is the best security they have where it is a truly two step process.

Or I would have to get a Fanny Man Purse https://i.postimg.cc/pTbkXpLZ/hip-bag-guy.jpg

Now a phone the size of the old Pagers is about the only thing I would do on my belt and would be perfect.

No, I have two-step log in by email on my Steam account. It seems there are two things that trigger it... either 1)log-in from a new device such as a new computer or even a different browser or 2) not having accessed your account for a certain period of time. When I logged in this morning, it said, "It appears you are using a different device or you have not logged in for some time," or something to that effect. I then was sent a code in my email account registered with Steam. I entered it and was good to go. When I logged in a couple of hours later, it didn't trigger two-step authentication because I was using the same device and had just recently logged in.

Gads, I LOATHE man-purses even on women! My husband's phone isn't a whole lot bigger that one of the old pagers and he keeps on his belt. He is much better about carrying his all the time than I am.

You can get a case with a holster. Otterbox also helps of you drop it

Well, I have a little flip phone but can barely figure out how to make a call on it let alone how to see a text. Sometimes when I see a message that I missed a call and I try to "view" it, I can do it, and sometimes I cannot "view" it for the life of me! Anyway the phone is very old and not registered to me (or however that works) so I would not want to use it for this Steam authentication as I would probably never be able to get on Steam. Someday, I hope to get a new phone, of my very own, and have somebody teach me how to use it However, I just can't justify the cost to want to actually do it.

As I told Greyfus, my husband has a very nice little smart phone that he got for $70. We use TracFone and he pays about $10 a month for his.

Well, if I ever get one, maybe he can teach me how to use it

This is the most technologically challenged human ever! He has slowly figured it out although he still asks me how to do something now and then. Being able to actually get and listen to messages was a success! The one thing he will never do is text... he is 6" 6" tall with hands to match... his thumbs and fingers on that tiny keyboard are hysterical!

Maybe in my next life but for now they are too big for me to lug around...plus I don't want to talk to anyone anyway let alone read or text, I hate typing on a keyboard than squinting to see those little keys

GreyFuss....

I agree, Winfrey!

And at my age the only people that want to talk to me are telemarketers and scammers

Talk about relics, I finally bit the bullet and got rid of our land line in January. I hated to as we have one phone that is hard wired to the system, so even with no power, we would still have a phone. But I got tired of paying $60 a month for a dozen spam and telemarketer calls a day. And yes, the number was registered with the federal and state do not call lists.

Greyfuss, I get my activation code on the Steam app on my phone. I have phone notifications on for everything, like amazon, paypal etc. If it is offered, I set it up. Hackers get better all the time!

Yes, they hack phone aps also!

Thanks Sheriff

Sounds like your way would be a true two-step sign in as you can't get on Steam at any time without completing both steps.

I wonder if staying signed on to Steam all the time would prevent any hackers from getting into your account. If you are signed in, how would they be able to sign in to change any information on you or would staying on all the time make it easier for a hacker?

From what I've read it wouldn't make any difference because they get in by abusing the password recovery system.

If you have a 2nd computer you can try logging in with that one while you're still logged in with the first computer. Or you could try logging in from the same computer with two different web browsers. Some websites will allow more than one log in at the same time while others will bump the first connection. I don't know what Steam does.

You can be logged into Steam on two different computers at the same time.

Thanks for checking.
I guess that settles it then. There's no advantage securitywise to staying logged into Steam. It won't keep someone else from logging in.

I didn't just check it now. I had been using both the 10 and 7 for the last few months of last year. There is some message that will pop up that you might catch though. It doesn't stay long so you can miss it. I don't remember exactly what it says but something like " computer 2 is available for streaming now" or similar.

I just turned on my Win 7 and started Steam in offline mode but didn't see the pop up on Win 10 ,so I wonder if the hackers can download your games and then, even if you change your account and get it back, maybe they can still access under your old account in offline mode to play those games.

According to what I've read, offline mode only lasts 10 or 11 days. People who've gone on vacation to places without internet have discovered this to their detriment.

I read that you can play in offline mode forever if the games are up to date, unless Steam requires you to sign in for some reason.

"3. Steam will prompt you to restart in offline mode. Only fully up-to-date games at the time of the restart will be available, so make sure everything is updated. However, Steam won't check for updates after this point, meaning you can keep playing games in offline mode indefinitely."

Quoted from this website: https://www.businessinsider.com/can-you-play-steam-games-offline

I don't know. I've been playing some casual games in offline mode for awhile now with no problems, but I am afraid to try a longer Adventure game and maybe half way through not be able to finish it.

In this Steam article I don't see any mention of "time": https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3160-agcb-2555

I might be wrong, but I think it depends on the game.

Games that normally need the Steam client to run will only run in offline mode for 10 days according to "Monokuma" in ***this post***


As Draclvr says it may very well depend on the games you have.

Here's a long reddit thread showing people have a variety of experiences with offline mode
https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/4k13km/i_will_not_have_internet_for_6_months_will_i_be/


Are you playing them on a computer without an Internet connection?

It sure seems like they need to fix that password recovery system and it seems easy to do.

Not Going To Give Out The Easy Steps That I Think Hackers Could Use Here In A Public Forum but what they should require that when changing an Email address that one has to know what the previous one was before the change can be made.

Yes, in my Windows 7. They are old games that apparently didn't require opening in Steam online first as I did not do that. I have a lot of games downloaded that I had hoped to play before going offline but there were just too many. If some will play, I'll play them. If they won't, I guess I'll try them In Windows 10.

And yes, I believe not all games will play offline even for a day.