Taking the wind out of impersonators' sails - A suggestion to prevent users from getting scammed

steamtrades support

...is not existent! :P

I think it is a safe mindset to assume anybody is out to scam you and check as thoroughly as possible (like clicking on the profile etc). Well everyone thinks they won't get scammed until they do so I guess I wouldn't know yet.
But I think if implemented, a simpler message like "Always hit the steam button above and check if the steam profile is the same one as linked to the steamtrades profile." would be more effective.

Just advice from me for avoiding scamming. I'm not really adding anything to the actual question or discussion idea here:

I don't check as I should with small keys and bundle stuff, since I've never had a problem yet! On bigger trades I will check every time though, or if it involves actual money, as in PayPal, etc. Thanks for reminding me ^ and yeah, some people have sent me a message as well when they get an impersonator, and they tell me to watch out. One actually got their steam level to match the user (it was level 100!). I was grateful for them letting me know, since this impersonator was in my friends list... I also have let one user know they had an impersonator when somebody I've done a few trades with got swindled and lost money in a PayPal transaction. I recognized several other names they'd used before on steam also after checking the also played as arrow by their profile picture... so I am guessing they had been doing it for some time, and they also had several flags on Steamrep, but nothing confirmed unfortunately, for whatever reason. I'm not sure how Steamrep or other things like that do what they do on complaints. I told the person to file one anyway, and there was probably nothing they could do as far as getting any money back. PayPal won't settle those kinds of disputes as far as I'm aware.

Good to make sure they have the same user tags and permalink. Another thing that can be helpful is making a unique tag note beside people in your Steam friends list you trade with. If somebody in that list tries to impersonate someone else, they will have a different tag. I will sometimes just google the permalink on the profile page to see if anything fishy comes up. Good to take a moment in a big trade. Verifying they have a large amount of games can be helpful if it's not something you can compare. I will usually check for a Steamtrades or barter.vg link if possible, and if they don't have any rep do the above stuff. Just simply comparing games with a link is a good way to keep yourself out of trouble. Of course somebody with no rep is also worth considering sometimes if they have a clean permalink. Everyone started with no rep at some point! If they seem to have a real steam profile (some games that one pays for, or a large amount, and some time invested in said games, etc.) and no rep, I give them the benefit of the doubt, and ask them to go first. I don't trust +rep on Steam profiles... unless I see rep from some real traders I know of, but in that case, I'd assume they would have an established Steamtrades or other place I could cross-check in almost any case.

tl;dr - If you're making a big or risky trade, do background checks with the steam tag, make sure they don't have anything in the past that would be considered a red flag. A simple click or two and checking the permalink through search engine can be very helpful. Profile numbers (games, steam level, time played on recent games) comparison with steamtrades or barter can confirm a reputable user (assuming you can check directly off a profile click with enhanced steam). Checking the also played as arrow by profile pic (impersonators might chameleon as other users you recognize and/or traded with in the past), and comparing numbers will go a long way in keeping you safe.

Why don't we make it red and neon, placed somewhere in the center of every steamtrades page with an option to be turned off somewhere deep in the settings...
Or every nickname which is in use by someone else should be marked as at is. =|

Not useful in your case, but my advice is not to use a nickname with an l or an I in it...that's a capital i and a lowercase L :P
Lots of scammers just change one letter, easy mode! :)

(Plus it's also confusing as hell in puzzles...you know who you are, gggrrrr!)

I have made a similar suggestion before and agree that some sort of warning would be more than welcome. Seasoned traders probably don't need this kind of warning (although it doesn't hurt to have it there as a reminder) but newcomers, as well as people who don't currently trade on SteamTrades and are sent there by some scammer, are likely to make the mistake of taking the profile at face value without checking for ownership.