There are a few quick methods that one can do in order to determine if one is a scammer:

• Private Profile
  A telltale sign of a potential scammer is a private profile. Scammers have private profiles in order to hide information and look less revealing.
  
  
• Private Inventory
  Generally, 90% of scammers will have a private inventory. Scammers do this to hide items that they've scammed or not reveal what they truly have.
  
  
• They are banned on Steam Rep or any other major tf2 website
  If you are unfamiliar with what steam rep is, it is essentially a website where one's information is tracked and their reputations are displayed. For example, if I wanted to check my steam rep page, I would go to my profile page, copy the link (of the page that you are on), head to https://steamrep.com/ , paste the link into the check reputation bar and hit enter or search. When you go to their page, they will either be normal, like the one below:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Or they'll be banned and marked as a scammer:
  
  

Scammers will disguise fake links as real looking links. When you click on these links, malware or keyloggers could be installed (or worse). Do not click on any links!

Which of the following links is NOT a real link?

A. https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com
B. https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/app/855860/workshop/
C. https://steamcornrnunity.com/store
D. https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/app/440

A, B and D are all real links. C is fake. Why so? It is spelt steamRNRNunity. There aren't any 'm's, only 'r' and 'n's (look yourself)!

Such fake links are difficult to spot and are easy to fall for! Be very careful what you click on!

Scammers may send you links, and whilist they might not be phishing links, they may contain fake logins to steal your username and password. Do not login on any untrustworthy sites.

For example, here is a made-up chat that may lead to a fake link:

Exotic 81: Hello Sir
You: Hi
Exotic 81: Are you interested in participating in a highlander competitive game? We need one more member on our team. If you are interested, please go to https://comptf2signup.com and register on the team SwordOFLights.

When you go to this website, you will be asked to 'login' through steam. Once you do this, your details are gone. If you have accidently logged onto a fake website, CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD IMMEDIATELY.

There are exceptions however. Sites like backpack.tf, steam rep and scrap.tf are all safe to login to.

If someone is asking for your items, but promising something outside the trade window, the are likely a scammer. For example, they may say:

"Send your unusual over and i'll give you three unused $20 steam vouchers"

You send your unusual over and wait for him to give you the codes, and lo and behold, he has unfriended and blocked you.

TIP: If it's not in the trade window, it is probably a scam!

Scammers often impersonate high-tier traders, administrators or valve employees. There are a few ways you can see if they are who they really claim to be!

• Often if they are impersonating a high-tier trader, they will have a link to their backpack.tf page. When you go on their supposed backpack.tf page, click on the button that will take you to the user's profile. When you click this, if you are taken to a very different looking profile, you can be sure that the other person is a scammer!
  
  
• If they are a valve employee or moderator, they will have an official steam badge that certifies this. Look at the image below:
  
  
  
  However, if they claim to be a valve employee, but don't have the badge, they are a scammer. Look at the example below:
  
  

Congratulations, you've reached the end! You now know some basic techniques in order to identify a scam!










However, there are many, many types of scams. If you want to read about the different types of scams, go here (I DO NOT OWN THIS GUIDE, CREDITS TO THE CREATOR):

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=307376928

Here are some useful links that have been mentioned in this guide (note that these sites are safe to login to, but are not montiored by Valve):

Backpack.tf: https://backpack.tf/

Steam Rep: https://steamrep.com/

Scrap.tf: https://scrap.tf/