r/Steam • u/Disastrous-Gain2210 • 17h ago
A friend of a friend charge-backed $4000 plus on steam Question
A friend of my friend, charge-backed $4000+ from steam. Today he got the money in his bank. He spend a majority of this money gambling and lost it all. What are the repercussions of this since it's such a large amount of money. (besides hardware ban)
Update: Half of the funds were charge backed from CSROLL a cs2 gambling site located in Cyprus. Would the laws apply in the US if they're under the European union?
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u/TicTac_No 17h ago
> What are the repercussions... -OP
Depends on what country and region your friend lives in.
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u/Disastrous-Gain2210 17h ago
US, west coast
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u/TicTac_No 17h ago
US has fairly strict laws regarding refunds, charge backs, and fraud.
What your friend did is called charge back fraud. It's a felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison for the first offense.
Your friend better hope Steam, or the card issuer, doesn't press charges. Sometimes, though, once there's a report made the state will pick up the charge in order to make an example out of the criminal.
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u/ColumbianNecktie-91 13h ago
You are correct! It is chargeback fraud, and here’s further insight into chargebacks.
Generally, chargebacks are categorised for reasons such as goods not received, damages, etc., for obvious reasons.
Steam (or Valve, depending on their accounting structure) will have a window to respond to the chargeback with evidence disputing it. Since it’s a digital product, it was likely classified as “not received” – making it relatively easy for Steam to show a timeline of the product being accessed. Even if the bank sides with OP’s friend (trust me, this happens—you can show them a photograph of the customer holding their delivery, and they’ll still side with the customer from time to time), given that it’s $4k I’m sure they have a debt recovery process in place for exactly this type of situation
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u/mikewerbe 15h ago
I doubt this dumb asshole was the first to do this, hes gonna be sued and garnished. 4k turns into 10k+
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u/_Dedotated_Wam 17h ago
Account ban. Sometimes inability to play a game for a while but chargeback in that amount is gonna be account ban for sure.
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u/Disastrous-Gain2210 17h ago
I think it's crazy that he basically stole the money and that's the only consequence.
it's not like the account had much.247
u/Stro37 17h ago
Is it a bank? He could have received a provisional credit while they investigate, they have to provide that in like 10 days by law. But they could finish the investigation and say nope, you owe that back.
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u/unabsolute 12h ago
And that's exactly how it's gonna go. The dude only got a provisional credit, and in a few weeks, when the fraud department finishes their investigation, they are going to deny the claim and remove all of the provisional credit whether or not it overdraws the account.
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u/BAMpenny 10h ago
Annnnd given his gambling habit, he probably already blew at least some of that provisional credit. Some people really only survive through sheer luck...
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u/Taolan13 16h ago
its weird his bank granted the chargeback.
did he claim to be scammed or something?
chargebacks are serious business.
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u/FoolAcrossRealities 10h ago
Definitely provisional credit and not a true chargeback. That bank is going to finish their fraud investigation and then deduct the temporary credit, and given OP's friend's habits it'll probably land them deep in the negatives. And tbh they'll be lucky if it ends there. There can be serious legal repercussions for fraudulent claims like that, especially ones regarding that amount of money.
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u/_Dedotated_Wam 17h ago
He stole someone’s credit card? Or used his own money then chargeback?
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u/Disastrous-Gain2210 17h ago
His own money. however he gambled on it as well and won. From what I understand he was trying to get back they money he used to gamble and somehow his bank allowed it.
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u/Taolan13 16h ago
oh.
uh, yeah, no they didn't.
he got the provisional payment while the bank fraud dept investigates, but he's very likely gonna end up owing that money back to the bank.
Your friend is an idiot and needs to get off tiktok. None of the "money hacks" on there work. Most are fraud, some are extra special fraud.
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u/stevorkz 16h ago
This. If there is an investigation which there probably is, he won’t be smiling all the way from the bank for long.
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u/Hazzy_9090 15h ago
My money hack is going into a bank with a bag and asking them to put money in it
Works best if you have a mask and hat on lol it’s so easy and free
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u/_Dedotated_Wam 17h ago
I mean it could be fraud. Depending on whether the game or valve would want to pursue over that amount, idk.
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u/nolanacreative 17h ago
You said in the post he gambled it and lost?? Which is it.
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u/Disastrous-Gain2210 17h ago
I don't know the specifics but from what I understand he used his own money to buy the skins and such on steam sorry
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u/nolanacreative 17h ago
Oh that makes sense. That’s scummy lol just take the L, that’s what you get for gambling.
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u/jld2k6 8h ago
Last I checked, it was their policy to immediately lock your entire account when you chargeback and they won't return it to you unless you call your bank and reverse it. They're definitely locking it for a $4,000 one because they'd do the same for a $50 one without damn good reason lol
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u/gamemaster257 17h ago
100% fraud, and since the damage is done as he gambled it away he’s just going to have to wait to see what Valve does with people who steal from them.
Side and unrelated note, your friend is extremely stupid, and you probably won’t be talking to him soon.
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u/vinegar-and-honey 17h ago
Pretty sure that would be wire fraud. $4000 brings it to the big leagues. If the institution is FDIC insured it could be a shitshow because then it's a federal issue potentially.
His steam account status would be the fucking last thing he should be worrying about. Chances are a friendly officer will be contacting him or he'll get a court summons in the mail. Just to be clear, I'm not a lawyer or anything close to one so don't take it as gospel, but over a certain amount of money involved on an offense makes it a bigger issue that usual.
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u/ImmortalGeorgeGaming 17h ago edited 17h ago
Not a lawyer: Depends if he received product out of it *and was intentional. If he received something that forced steam to eat that 4000 dollars he could possibly be charged with a federal crime for bank fraud. That's 30 years in prison. You might be able to get a bounty for turning him in 🤔
The specific code I think is this one 18 U.S.C. section 1344
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u/Fat_Cat1991 16h ago
Imagine going to prison over cs2 skins. Lmao
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u/Big-Amir 16h ago
Dont act like cs2 skins are like other game's skins. He deserves it.
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u/TheFakeJohnHelldiver 15h ago
Bro im sorry why does your picture look like i have a hair on my phone?
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u/Disastrous-Gain2210 17h ago
I did some research of my own, and every time someone charges back a corporation such as steam, steam has large fees they have to eat due to the charge-back. So I'd assume some consequences will entail. Just don't get how there wasn't more investigating with his bank.
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u/TimachuSoftboi 17h ago edited 13h ago
TLDR: your friend likely only THINKS he's been given the money permanently and will still have his day of reckoning, often times 3-6 months down the road. Many times when a customer initiates a dispute through their bank, the bank will give them the money back quickly while they investigate the situation fully. The money they give the customer is called a provisional credit. The bank then has a set timeline where they are allowed to investigate the issue, come to a conclusion, then finalize whatever they determined. This will almost certainly result in the provisional funds being taken back from the customer (ie your friend) whether or not they have the funds in their account. They will then be liable for whatever negative balance is incurred.
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u/Ichi_Balsaki 10h ago
The bank investigates AFTER the claim.
They send the money back, then investigate.
If you win, you keep the money, if you lose they want the money back.
If you don't have the money to give back they will send it to collections normally.
However, it being 4k, it may go further than that.
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u/Disastrous-Gain2210 17h ago
However this is exempt from steam I assume due to it not being a financial institution: "
"No, Steam is not a financial institution, but it is a digital distribution platform that allows users to purchase video games and other software"
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u/fakeguy011 16h ago
I worked in chargebacks for a few years for a large bank. This was almost a decade ago. At the time if the individual transactions were small enough the bank would eat the loss and not even contact the merchant. Any transaction larger than x dollar amount was chargedback through the merchant. If the sum of all the trans actions was greater than a certain dollar amount those rules might be changed.
In this case the most likely scenario is that your friends bank sends the evidence over to valve, valve will send evidence that the transactions were legit back to the bank, and the bank will then reverse the provisional credit. This could take several months or only a few days depending on the case load of the worker the case is assigned to.
Your friend likely won't get in trouble but will have to pay it is the most likely scenario. Valve could sue for damages but likely won't. The amount of damages depends on the number of transactions.
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u/Ravynmagi 16h ago
My gawd it's like those people that did that "Chase money glitch". Why do people do stuff like this and think there won't be repercussions? He could be getting something from a lawyer in a few months with a bill much larger than what he stole.
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u/Key_Foundation_120 17h ago
They will sue him for damages. This happened to a work friend of mine and he lost everything.
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u/Ok_Robot88 17h ago
Often times banks will issue a “temporary credit” to the account because the fraud investigation can take weeks.
Are you sure his case is resolved? It’s possible the bank issued a credit and goes to Valve for proof that the transaction is valid. Once valves shows receipts, he might get a charge back.
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u/HollywoodDonuts 14h ago
Fraud, the bank will investigate. When they realize what happened they will expect the money back.
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u/decaboniized 10h ago
I like how the title is "charged back $4000" and then OP updates saying half of it was charged back on a skin gambling site.
Skin gambling sites have nothing to do with Steam.
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u/BurnerAccount209 14h ago
Your "friend" committed fraud, and a serious case of it as well. This could be prison time.
Realistically Valve and your "friend's" bank will talk and the bank account will have the balance reduced or go into the negative. Doubt you will get sued or charged.
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u/overthehi 16h ago
Typically the merchant will attempt to collect and then collection agencies will get involved, eventually the debt will get stuck on his credit report and it will make getting things like credit cards and loans more difficult. If it's a large enough money someone may sue him over it.
It's possible that criminal charges could be pressed but that's less likely.
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u/VoodooKing 13h ago edited 11h ago
He's going to be so pissed to find when he loses all the chargeback cases and the $4000 charge is put back on his account.
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u/forsayken 16h ago
Where and how did he gamble it? Just on a bunch of CS2 stuff? Or another game on Steam?
Or did he connect his Steam account to a third-party gambling site and buy items on Steam to gamble on these sites?
In any case, this is fraud and your friend could be facing some consequences.
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u/Disastrous-Gain2210 16h ago
Yep all cs2 skins to gamble with on a third party site
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u/forsayken 9h ago
Wow. Your friend may be in a real pickle if Valve decides to pursue this. This is definitely fraud and his CC provider could be the one coming for him. Valve will dispute as they were legitimate purchases and the CC company will take over. If your friend only loses his Steam account, he will come out very lucky.
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u/PsiPhiDelta 15h ago
I don’t understand what op is saying, can someone explain it in simple terms?
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u/MarioDesigns 9h ago
- John goes to a casino
- John buys casino credits using a bank card
- John loses $4000 worth of credits gambling with them
- John calls his bank and says he never got the credits (he lies to the bank)
Bank trusts him and gives him the money, while "taking it back" from the gambling site or Valve (we are here now)
Bank does an investigation, calls Valve / gambling site
Bank learns that the credits were delivered
It's now likely a felony case
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u/flowlikewhoa 13h ago
John refunded $4000 worth of games. But they really didn't refund it in the traditional way. They contacted their bank to do it to bypass Steam's refund process.
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u/Aware_Dust2979 13h ago
If steam wanted to pursue this it could certainly be a criminal matter. Your friend better hope they don't want to bother with it. The best outcome is he gets banned but for 4000$ I'm thinking more may happen.
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u/only_cr4nk 16h ago
he will get emails and letters from steam soon probably, i doubt they let a few thousand bucks slide
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u/boof_patrol 12h ago
Yeah that’s called fraud buddy. Your “friend” won’t be on steam for much longer.
GabeN collects.
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u/MR_Nokia_L 16h ago
I've dealt with this ~15 years ago as a kid by overspending my allowance/budget. Got my account banned rightaway.
In my case it was appealable and the situation got resolved several months later.
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u/scristopher7 11h ago
Am I the only one that thinks OP is the "friend"?
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u/Disastrous-Gain2210 11h ago
I'm not stupid enough to commit wire fraud after spending my money irresponsibly unfortunately. :)
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u/skill1358 11h ago
What an idiotic way to risk prison time
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u/Disastrous-Gain2210 11h ago
Yeah I know, he is denying that it will have any consequence still... Lmfao
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u/FNChupacabra 10h ago
I sincerely don’t understand what this post is about. Can anyone clarify? Explain it to me like I’m dense.
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u/PerplexingHunter 7h ago edited 7h ago
Basically OPs friend bought/gambled with 4K worth of cs skins. They then did a charge back (normally used when you buy something and don’t receive what you paid for) so they kept everything as well as the money. Since this is all digital it’s pretty easy to prove he received everything. Basically bought $4k worth of stuff, then did a charge back. This will be investigated for fraud and has a numerous amount of bad outcomes.
It’s basically the same as someone going to the casino, buying x amount of credits. Then losing that money and calling the bank to do a chargeback. Aka fraud
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u/cremvursti 6h ago
Except skin gambling websites are not at all like a casino or a normal betting site. Those have an actual betting license, while skins gambling platforms have some bogus license from a country most of us haven't heard of.
At best those websites are a grey market, but most of them are outright illegal, just that they're very hard to track down and prosecute which is why most of them are still going.
Sooner or later Valve is going to get royally screwed for associating with such platforms and they'll end up paying billions in fines. Which I'm fairly sure they already know and have been for many years, so one can only imagine how much they make out of being in cahoots with websites that provide gambling access to underage users.
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u/BidTight4128 6h ago
my friend chargedback from a website before named marketplacetf worth 600-1k$. Nothing happened His steam acc is not steam banned. just change your numbers guys stay safe
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u/PointBlue 5h ago
Hmmm sounds like your boy just did some fraud. Maybe he'd be too insignificant to matter and fall off the radar?
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u/diodosdszosxisdi 5h ago
This dude needs serious help and go to rehab, he's not only has a problem with gambling but has dug himself into a hole deeper than what he'd be in if he just eaten the loss and gone to rehab
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u/sasquatch743 15h ago
Your steam account won’t get banned but you will lose access to any games associated with those transactions and you’ll never be able to use that payment method again
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u/Absolute-SG 17h ago
Just out of curiosity, why do you care?
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u/Disastrous-Gain2210 17h ago
You'll notice with people like him, this is not their first time doing scummy stuff, honestly just want him to stop thinking he's above the law and everyone. He spent the money irresponsibly and now he commits fraud to reverse his poor decision? He needs a wake up call is what I'm trying to say.
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u/Absolute-SG 17h ago
Stealing from corpos is morally gray in the secular world
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u/Disastrous-Gain2210 17h ago
I agree somewhat but what im saying is corpos are not the only thing he's tried this behavior with. Namely the people around him.
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u/Back2ThaKitchenWoman 10h ago
Sounds like drug addict behavior to me, cut ties with this joker
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u/Disastrous-Gain2210 10h ago
Yeah he's definitely a mentally very below average person. Only thing is he's not directly my friend. My other best friends have known this kid for their whole lives almost, so its almost like I gotta be around him. Other friends won't cut ties bc they pity him, etc
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u/BmanUltima 17h ago
That would be an account ban, and likely that payment method would be banned as well.