Valve Bans Trading and Reselling of CS:GO Keys
Valve has decided to ban the resale of keys used to open the boxes acquired while playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. All because of the fact that there were used in scams.
Yesterday Counter-Strike: Global Offensive received a new update. Its main function is to eliminate the possibility of reselling the keys bought in the game that are used to open item containers acquired during matches. In other words, they will be permanently assigned to the account of the player who decided to buy them. It is worth noting that this restriction applies only to items purchased after its entry into force. So if you have any spare keys for trading, you can still put them on the Steam market for real money or exchange for some other stuff.
Although people who prioritize CS:GO item trade represent a relatively small percentage of the community, they may certainly feel a little disappointed with Valve's decision. The owner of Steam, however, had a good reason to disable the ability to resell the keys. Here is an excerpt from the announcement posted on the official blog of the cult FPP online shooter:
"In the past, most key trades we observed were between legitimate customers. However, worldwide fraud networks have recently shifted to using CS:GO keys to liquidate their gains. At this point, nearly all key purchases that end up being traded or sold on the marketplace are believed to be fraud-sourced. As a result we have decided that newly purchased keys will not be tradeable or marketable.
(…)
Unfortunately this change will impact some legitimate users, but combating fraud is something we continue to prioritize across Steam and our products.
This is not the first time that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive items play a major role in scams. It is enough to mention 2016 and the controversies related gambling sites where cosmetic items from the production were used as currency and youtubers promoting them. But that's hardly surprising. Skins, which can fall out of the containers acquired in the title, can cost even several tens of thousands of dollars, and as you know, where big money is at stake, criminals gather.
