{"id":30072,"date":"2024-04-24T18:26:26","date_gmt":"2024-04-24T09:26:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=30072"},"modified":"2024-04-24T18:26:28","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T09:26:28","slug":"trust-me-im-a-game-journalist-japanese-dev-analyzes-the-types-of-steam-key-scammers-theyve-encountered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/trust-me-im-a-game-journalist-japanese-dev-analyzes-the-types-of-steam-key-scammers-theyve-encountered\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Trust me, I&#8217;m a game journalist&#8221; Japanese dev analyzes the types of Steam Key scammers they&#8217;ve encountered"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Earlier this month, <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/buy-the-game-you-piece-of-st-indie-dev-applauded-for-dissing-steam-key-beggars\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">we took a look at an indie developer<\/a> who\u2019s short and sweet rebuff to all the people offering him \u201cfree exposure\u201d in exchange for Steam keys earned him a virtual standing ovation among gamers and fellow developers alike. Unfortunately, the problem of unwarranted Steam key solicitation is widespread and persistent, and recently, another Japanese indie creator addressed the issue through a humorous yet very informative analysis.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eiki, a game developer affiliated with the Japanese indie game studio illuCalab, recently <a href=\"https:\/\/note.com\/eiki_okuma\/n\/n72f050277a47\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">published an article<\/a> that sheds light on the comically dismal reality faced by basically anyone who has ever published a game on Steam \u2013 the flocks of random people begging for free keys. This came right before the Early Access release of illuCalab\u2019s new title <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/1883000\/HEART_of_CROWN_Online\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Heart of Crown Online<\/a>, the impending launch of which unfortunately attracted hordes of predatory scammers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll start with the conclusion \u2013 do not give out a single key. They<em> will<\/em> be resold\u201d the developer warns before going into any details, attaching a screenshot of their Steam key beggar-infested inbox.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1649\" height=\"797\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1649px) 100vw, 1649px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/20240424-30072-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30078\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/20240424-30072-001.jpg 1649w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/20240424-30072-001-380x184.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/20240424-30072-001-768x371.jpg 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/20240424-30072-001-1536x742.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/20240424-30072-001-600x290.jpg 600w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>From there, Eiki describes three different species of Steam Key beggars and explains why none of them should be humored. The first and most common one is the \u201cI\u2019m a curator\u201d type. These people introduce themselves as relevant curators with XX thousand followers and ask you to send them Steam Keys via e-mail, rather than through Steam\u2019s Curator Connect system, which they claim is \u201ctoo buggy.\u201d In reality, Curator Connect allows developers to share their games with reviewers without the risk of having it resold. Additionally, Eiki notes, this type of Steam beggar often links you to the page of a curator they have nothing to do with, or more elaborately, a dummy page they have somehow inflated the following of.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u201cI\u2019m a Curator\u201d type aims to exploit the developer\u2019s lack of knowledge about the Curator Connect system. Alternatively, some agree to use the system at first, but then pretend that \u201cit didn\u2019t work\u201d and ask for keys to be sent via e-mail. According to Eiki, there are even cases where the scammer will say they received the game just fine, and then ask for more keys via e-mail \u201cfor their friends.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next up, Eiki introduces the \u201cI\u2019m an Influencer\u201d type. These scammers present themselves as content creators with 100k+ followers, linking you, once again, either to real profiles they have nothing to do with or fake ones. Eiki notes that sometimes, these shady profiles actually do contain the occasional Steam game review, but the only comments below them are from obvious bots. In this sense, even on the off chance you were to receive a review, you are not likely to benefit from it in any way. The developer notes that these emails will often include links to multiple platforms, such as Steam, TikTok and Instagram, but that the scammers sometimes can\u2019t even be bothered to paste links to the same creator\u2019s account.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1395\" height=\"766\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1395px) 100vw, 1395px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/20240424-30072-002-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/20240424-30072-002-1.jpg 1395w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/20240424-30072-002-1-380x209.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/20240424-30072-002-1-768x422.jpg 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/20240424-30072-002-1-600x329.jpg 600w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Last but not least is the \u201cI\u2019m a journalist\u201d Steam key beggar. Eiki notes that this type of scam is the rarest as it requires the most effort, but that some people go to impressive lengths to present themselves as video game journalists belonging to *name of website*. Eiki attaches an image of one of the more elaborate attempts they have encountered. These scammers ask for multiple keys for free while linking their \u201cinfluential\u201d social media accounts, but the websites they link to are often sparse and do not look the part.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eiki advises fellow developers to reach out to creators they want to collaborate with at their own discretion, rather than engage with unsolicited inquiries.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>IlluCalab&#8217;s latest title HEART of CROWN Online is currently available in Early Access via <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/1883000\/HEART_of_CROWN_Online\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steam<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Japanese indie developer shares insight on the various types of Steam Key scammers they have encountered, warning fellow devs what to look out for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":30077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indie-games","category-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>&quot;Trust me, I&#039;m a game journalist&quot; Japanese dev analyzes the types of Steam Key scammers they&#039;ve encountered - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Japanese indie developer shares insight on the various types of Steam Key scammers they have encountered, warning fellow devs what to look out for.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/trust-me-im-a-game-journalist-japanese-dev-analyzes-the-types-of-steam-key-scammers-theyve-encountered\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&quot;Trust me, I&#039;m a game journalist&quot; Japanese dev analyzes the types of Steam Key scammers they&#039;ve encountered - AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Japanese indie developer shares insight on the various types of Steam Key scammers they have encountered, warning fellow devs what to look out for.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/trust-me-im-a-game-journalist-japanese-dev-analyzes-the-types-of-steam-key-scammers-theyve-encountered\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-24T09:26:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-24T09:26:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/20240424-30072-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"563\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amber V\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amber V\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"Trust me, I'm a game journalist\" Japanese dev analyzes the types of Steam Key scammers they've encountered - AUTOMATON WEST","description":"A Japanese indie developer shares insight on the various types of Steam Key scammers they have encountered, warning fellow devs what to look out for.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/trust-me-im-a-game-journalist-japanese-dev-analyzes-the-types-of-steam-key-scammers-theyve-encountered\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"Trust me, I'm a game journalist\" Japanese dev analyzes the types of Steam Key scammers they've encountered - AUTOMATON WEST","og_description":"A Japanese indie developer shares insight on the various types of Steam Key scammers they have encountered, warning fellow devs what to look out for.","og_url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/trust-me-im-a-game-journalist-japanese-dev-analyzes-the-types-of-steam-key-scammers-theyve-encountered\/","og_site_name":"AUTOMATON WEST","article_published_time":"2024-04-24T09:26:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-04-24T09:26:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":563,"url":"http:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/20240424-30072-header.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Amber V","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AUTOMATON_ENG","twitter_site":"@AUTOMATON_ENG","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Amber V","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/trust-me-im-a-game-journalist-japanese-dev-analyzes-the-types-of-steam-key-scammers-theyve-encountered\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/trust-me-im-a-game-journalist-japanese-dev-analyzes-the-types-of-steam-key-scammers-theyve-encountered\/"},"author":{"name":"Amber V","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/fdc6517a00e35b6917ffdb02e8b574d9"},"headline":"&#8220;Trust me, I&#8217;m a game journalist&#8221; 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She grew up playing Duke Nukem and Wolfenstein with her dad, and is now enamored with obscure Japanese video games and internet culture. Currently devoted to growing Automaton West to the size of its Japanese sister-site, while making sure to keep news concise and developer stories deep and stimulating.","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/author\/amber-vjestica\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30072"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30072\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30081,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30072\/revisions\/30081"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}