Valve saves hacked CS2 player threatened with ransom over $300,000 of rare stickers

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Valve intervened to help a Counter-Strike 2 player whose account was hacked and held for ransom. The hacker stole a collection of incredibly rare stickers valued at around $300,000.

The player owned a complete set of incredibly rare Katowice 2014 Major stickers – some of the most prized items in the game. They’d had the set since it was worth just a few dollars, but now a single holographic Titan sticker from the collection is worth over $70,000.

Hawkeye, who owns a valuable collection, shared on X (formerly Twitter) that his account had been hacked and he was being blackmailed. He urgently asked his followers to tag anyone they knew at Steam Support to help him with his support ticket (HT-7HXJ-VP85-9HXQ). He also directly mentioned Steam, Counter-Strike, and Valve in hopes of a quick response.

I need help! My Steam account has been hacked, and now someone is trying to blackmail me. Could you please tag anyone from Steam Support who might be able to look at my support ticket (HT-7HXJ-VP85-9HXQ) as soon as possible? @Steam @CounterStrike @valvesoftware

— Hawkeye337 (@MarkSpurlock33) November 13, 2025

These stickers were first acquired in 2014 and hadn’t been used for over ten years. When hackers got into the account, they asked for a payment to a cryptocurrency wallet.

Acting quickly, they stuck all the stickers onto standard Negev machine guns and then rubbed them in to apply them. Once a sticker is permanently applied this way, it can’t be removed with any normal method. It seemed like there was no way to fix the mistake.

Someone hacked Hawkeye in Counter-Strike and replaced the skins on his valuable Katowice 2014 holo set with default skins on some Negevs. It’s a disaster, and there’s nothing he can do to fix it himself. Hopefully, the Counter-Strike team will step in and reverse the changes – it would be a first for them.

— olafkswg – Buying Skins 95% (@olafkswg) November 13, 2025

Valve steps in after taking responsibility

It’s extremely rare for Valve to undo sticker applications, and they’ve only helped recover a hacked account with valuable items once before. So, when Hawkeye’s account was affected, it seemed like a lost cause. However, surprisingly, Valve quickly fixed the issue, restoring the account and all the stickers to how they originally were.

Hawkeye expressed his shock and gratitude in a recent post, saying he was speechless and sending thanks from the bottom of his heart.

I can’t believe it – I got everything back! All my stickers! I’m so excited, I’m actually shaking! I’m speechless with gratitude. Thank you so much to Counter-Strike, Steam, and everyone in the X community for the incredible support – the 1,000+ retweets really helped me get my account back! – Hawkeye337

— Hawkeye337 (@MarkSpurlock33) November 13, 2025

He later explained how the breach happened despite using every available protection.

The mystery of what happened to my account is now clear. I had taken all possible security measures, including Steam Guard. Steam Support explained that a technician made a mistake while helping with a support request, which unfortunately gave someone else access to my account. They apologized for the error.

The mystery is solved: my account had the highest possible security settings, including Steam Guard enabled. Steam Support confirmed that a technician made a mistake while handling my support request, accidentally giving access back to the wrong person. They apologized for the error.

— Hawkeye337 (@MarkSpurlock33) November 14, 2025

Hawkeye announced he’d be taking a break from social media to confirm his account was completely back online. He explained he needed to go offline for a bit to ensure everything was working correctly and wouldn’t be accepting new friend requests for now. He also expressed his gratitude for all the support he’d received.

Players were happy to see Valve address the issue, showing they’re committed to maintaining the worth of items in the CS2 skin market.

Last October, Valve made a significant update to item skins which initially caused their value to drop, wiping out nearly $3 billion in market value. However, the market has bounced back quickly.

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2025-11-14 13:51