Valve Discontinues Retail Gift Card Program Due to Scams

Valve has announced it will phase out the production of its physical Steam gift cards, citing challenges in combating scams that exploit this payment method. The decision was noted in a recent update on a Steam support page. Since the introduction of retail gift cards in 2012, Valve has faced ongoing issues with scammers instructing victims to purchase gift cards and share their details and security PINs. These scammers can then resell the gift card information on gray-market sites, making it difficult to trace the funds. Valve has implemented measures to mitigate these scams, including limits on redemption and availability, as well as warnings on the cards advising users not to share PINs through email, social media, or phone.