How to Check for Scam in Rust Sites by Martin Hunink?

So you are looking to get some Rust-related services or products from an online platform, like maybe Rust skins. Did you know you might end up at a scam site if you are not careful? Yup, that’s right, it is a possibility, and here is our take on how you can avoid it. 

Scams in Rust Sites

Because of the popularity of Rust, tons of online platforms have been popping up on the internet to offer services related to Rust items, like marketplaces for Rust skins or Rust skin gambling sites. It’s great to have many options. However, not all options are great because some of them are scams. 

A scam site might steal your credit card information or sell your personal information to someone. Scam sites can also blatantly steal Rust items, and there is no way of getting them back. 

Looking at User Reviews

First thing you can do is look at user reviews. However, they are not always accurate. People usually write negative reviews to let their frustration out, and scam sites pay people to write fake positive reviews. 

While reading user reviews does not paint an accurate picture, it is still a good idea to have a look at them because you can get a heads-up on what to expect. You can get some idea of the platform and then make your way from there.

Checking For Information Theft & API Scams

One of the most dangerous scams that can happen to Rust players accidentally ending up at a scam site is information theft, and one of the main pieces of information you should keep safe from scammers is your API key. All you need to know about API is that once a scammer gets their hands on your API key, they can cancel incoming trade offers and then send new ones. 

There are two main things you can do to avoid an API scam. Firstly, go to steamcommunity.com/dev/apikey, which will take you to the “Register Steam Web API Key” page. Once on that page, you should see a blank space next to the “Domain Name” option. If the “Domain Name” option is not blank and you don’t remember entering something there, it means that some scammer has your API key. 

If you know that a scammer has your API key, immediately change your passwords in all places, including your email and Steam. Make sure that the passwords are different. After doing that, go to the “Manage Steam Guard” settings from the Steam client, and click on the “Deauthorize all other devices” option. Finally, go to steamcommunity.com/dev/registerkey and click on the “Revoke My Steam Web API Key” option. 

The second step in avoiding API key scams requires you to be careful while entering your Steam username and password while trying to log in to websites. When you enter a website like a Rust skin marketplace, you will likely see a “Sign in through Steam” icon. 

If you have already logged in to your Steam account on that browser, clicking on the “Sign in through Steam” button should not ask you to enter your username and password again. If it does ask you to enter your credentials, it is a scam site. To avoid confusion, you should always log in to the official Steam website before signing in to any other platform.  

Looking At How Long A Platform Has Stayed Operational

An important thing you should look at while trying to figure out if a platform is a scam is what year a platform got established. Rust marketplaces or trading sites that have been operational for a long time, like a few-plus years, usually won’t get involved in any scams. 

If you are about to use a site launched less than a half year ago, it might be a scam site. That’s not to say there aren’t great platforms out there that launched recently. 

Farming Less – The One-Stop Solution for Scams in Rust Sites

All the methods mentioned above are quite effective at filtering out scam sites. However, they require a ton of time, especially if you are trying to decide between several platforms. If you want a one-stop solution for that, check out this page on Farming Less. 

Farming Less is a review platform that has reviewed all types of Rust sites with the help of an extensive review process that they developed. Farming Less has highlighted all Rust scam sites, and the best part is that they try out the services of each platform themselves and verify if it will potentially scam users. If you pick a platform from Farming Less, you won’t have to worry about ending up at a scam site.