A major story has unfolded within the CS2 community involving the owner of a rare Steam inventory who became a victim of hacking and extortion. Attackers gained access to his account and threatened to destroy all items, including the complete Katowice 2014 collection — one of the most expensive sets in the game. The situation went public, and the ending turned out to be unexpected.
What Happened: Hacking, Extortion, and a BTC Demand
A collector under the nickname Hawkeye337, known as the owner of a complete set of holographic Katowice 2014 stickers, had his Steam account accessed by hackers. The attackers began to extort the owner, demanding one bitcoin within two hours and threatening to destroy the entire inventory.
The messages also contained threats regarding personal safety, turning the incident from theft into outright criminal extortion.
read more
What Was at Stake: An Inventory Worth Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars
Hawkeye337 is one of the few people in the world who has assembled a full Katowice 2014 set.
To understand the scale:
- his profile showcase included holographic stickers of iBUYPOWER, Titan, Vox, Reason, and other rarities;
- most of them are no longer available on the market;
- the total inventory value is estimated at over $500,000 at current prices.
The collector purchased these stickers back in 2014 for only $137, but due to massive price growth they turned into an asset comparable to elite crypto portfolios.
HELP! MY ACCOUNT GOT HACKED AND I AM NOW BEING BLACKMAILED
PLEASE X PEOPLE, TAG ANYONE YOU MAY KNOW IN STEAM SUPPORT TO RESPOND TO MY TICKET (HT-7HXJ-VP85-9HXQ) ASAP @Steam @CounterStrike @valvesoftware pic.twitter.com/lQ0VIT0fvm
— Hawkeye337 (@MarkSpurlock33) November 13, 2025
Community Reaction: Thousands of Reposts and Unprecedented Support
After Hawkeye337 published evidence of the hack and extortion, the social media posts instantly went viral. Traders, influencers, public figures, and regular players joined the discussion, demanding a response from Steam.
The tragic situation united the community — within hours the story gained over a thousand reposts and became a top topic in CS-X feeds.
An Unexpected Ending: Full Restoration of the Inventory
The most astonishing part was that Steam returned access to the account and fully restored the inventory — including all rare items. This is an extremely rare event within Valve’s support system, which almost never restores lost skins due to external hacks.
The community noted that the last time something similar occurred was during the notorious “HFB incident,” when an inventory worth over $3 million was compromised.
ITS BACK! ITS….ALL BACK! EVERY STICKER!!! omg…I'm shaking. I am at a complete loss for words🙏
From the BOTTOM of my heart, thank you @CounterStrike, @Steam, and the entire X community for the for 1K retweets and blasting this out there to reclaim my account! – Hawkeye337
— Hawkeye337 (@MarkSpurlock33) November 13, 2025
Is It Safe to Hold Expensive Skins in 2025?
The story of Hawkeye337 raised an important question about the safety of high-value inventories:
- Katowice-level sets in 2025 are worth as much as apartments in major cities;
- hackers use extortion, social engineering, access to phones, and SIM-swap attacks;
- even experienced collectors can fall victim.
The main discussion among traders: is it even reasonable to keep inventories worth hundreds of thousands of dollars on a platform without an official vault system or cold storage options?
read more
Players and Collectors Remain Vulnerable
This case became a rare example of how the strength of the community and public exposure can help save unique digital collections. However, it also serves as a reminder of how vulnerable players and collectors remain in 2025 — even those who own skins of legendary value.
