'Great job, scammers': Valve is officially done with Steam physical gift
cards thanks to fraudsters and it could be the start of a frustrating trend

Date:
Thu, 11 Jun 2026 16:19:32 +0000

Description:
Valve has taken a new stance on scammers taking advantage of consumers, and will no longer resupply physical Steam gift cards once stock runs dry.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Valve will soon be putting an end to physical gift cards It has effectively been forced to end physical
gift cards due to scammers' adaptations Once stock runs out across retailers there will be no more physical gift cards Valve will be putting an end to physical Steam gift cards once stock runs dry across retailers.

As reported by Destructoid , this move is due to scammers using the service
to take advantage of consumers. Steam scams aren't new by any means, with
many of them leading to stolen Steam accounts via scammers reaching out to users on Discord acting as Valve employees. It's also reminiscent of reports that suggest Apple 's physical gift card scams cost buyers millions of dollars, as 9to5Mac highlighted. Latest Videos From Watch full video here:

Valve notes on Steam support FAQ page that these physical gift card cases involve scammers posing as official agencies, and contacting consumers over the phone to coerce them to purchase gift cards to cover for taxes, bills, or other debts. (Image credit: Valve) Comment from r/technology Comment The latter doesn't sound too far off of scams for digital gift cards or Steam account theft, and this has been an ongoing battle for Valve, with the help
of law enforcement and retailers, but pulling the plug appears to be the best solution. You may like Valve is preparing a Steam Machine reservation system to beat scalpers Due to rising memory and storage costs the Steam Deck now costs 40% more The Steam Controller is almost here as Valve seemingly ships first batch

"As we have continued to put more and more restrictions in place, scammers have adapted," Valve says. "They continue to have an impact on Steam
customers and other unsuspecting individuals.

"So we've made the difficult decision to end the Steam Gift Card program at retail stores. As Steam Gift Cards run out of stock at retail locations, we will not be restocking them." Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in
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Unsurprisingly, it has left multiple Steam users frustrated, notably on
Reddit , with one in particular stating: "Great job scammers, first you trick people out of their money, then you ruin gift cards for everyone."

Those frustrations are warranted as consumers will now only be able to purchase gift cards digitally, and with scammers easily adapting to changes, it's not impossible for future changes from Valve that would dramatically adjust digital gift cards. We can only hope that Valve won't ever have to go that far. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/great-job-scammers-valve-is-officially-done-w ith-steam-physical-gift-cards-thanks-to-fraudsters-and-it-could-be-the-start-o f-a-frustrating-trend


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