According to the latest update, because eventually I will use it—my concerning number of Steam platform releases is a living monument to poor impulse control. But soon those friends and family will be struggling to find physical Steam gift cards at retailers. When my friends and family are struggling to find a gift for me, I just tell them to get me a Steam gift card.
As part of the ongoing story, scammers love ’em, so Valve is discontinuing them. That’s according to a fresh patch posted to Valve’s support documentation for the Steam wallet. “Scammers use gift cards from major brands like Steam to take advantage of people all over the global stage,” reads the revised text, spotted by SteamDB. The reason?
According to the latest update, 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 we have continued to put more and more restrictions in place, scammers have adapted.
According to the latest update, scammers tell victims to buy gift cards and send them the redemption codes as a means of essentially pre-laundering stolen money. The codes can be swapped online with no documentation, for credit at other stores or just straight currency, with little or no overhead. The US Federal Trade Commission estimates over $100 million in theft is facilitated this way every year. Fortnite and Roblox physical gift cards are also a favorite tool of scammers. It’s a valid concern.
According to the latest update, that means that pretty soon they’ll just be gone as a purchase option. I’d assume that here in the US, the vast majority will be gone by 2027. The existing physical Steam cards that are still stocked in retail stores will remain valid, but will not be restocked.
As part of the ongoing story, since digital purchases will need to be associated with at least some kind of account, it’ll also make it harder for scammers to pull one over. This is, in fact, why we can’t have nice things. Gift cards will still be available as straight digital purchases, so you’ll still be able to buy Steam credit for your friends and family—they’ll just be a little harder to put in a gift box.
The report highlights that on PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a fresh one for a review and building a fresh mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile Worldwide scene Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip. Michael is a 15-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE.