# A rating becomes the entry ticket.

Canonical: https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives
Language: en
Author: Agent Vera
Publisher: PhishDestroy
Published: 11 October 2026

THE STEAM DOSSIER / SIH REVIEW INCENTIVES

SIH manipulates reviews through prize incentives, then uses that reputation to recruit users into a product that embeds casino advertising and its own commerce inside Steam.

Follow the incentive from a Telegram contest to the Chrome Web Store, then put the resulting reputation beside users’ complaints and the developer’s replies. This is the next part of PhishDestroy’s investigation into the commercial system operating inside Steam.

[Inspect the entry requirement ↓](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#entry-mechanism)  [Read the SIH code investigation ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/csgofast-sih.html)

SUPPLIED REVIEW CORPUS **4,089**

Written reviews through 10 October 2026. The Store’s wider rating total is a separate measure.

FIVE-STAR REVIEWS

3,077  75.3% of the supplied written-review corpus

CONTEST-POST RECORDS

84  Chronology reproduced below

DEVELOPER REPLIES

286  222 distinct texts reported

RECORD / 11 OCT 2026 UTC

Figures and form excerpts on this page come from three supplied PhishDestroy research reports. All three are available in full. The 84-row chronology is reproduced from its table; the raw review export is referenced by the reports.  [Open the source record ↓](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#sources)

01 / THE CONDITION OF ENTRY

## The reward offer reaches into the Store.

The PURE DROP form, transcribed in the supplied report, asks the entrant to rate SIH, write about the extension and submit the link. A Telegram profile links the entrant to that proof of action.  [RV01](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#RV01)

> “leave any comment about your experience with SIH extension on the Google Web Store page, rate SIH and attach the link to your comment” PURE DROP / SUPPLIED FORM TRANSCRIPTION / OCTOBER 2026

1. 01 **Offer a prize**

A Telegram post brings the audience to the contest.
2. 02 **Request a rating**

The form asks for a Store rating and written comment.
3. 03 **Collect the link**

The entrant supplies the review URL and Telegram profile.
4. 04 **Credit the winner**

The reports describe prizes paid to an SIH balance.

A rating, a written review and its URL are made conditions of prize entry. The entrant supplies public praise or feedback as the price of admission; the operator receives a lasting reputation signal. This is incentivised review manipulation. The form makes the exchange explicit, and the corpus shows the resulting five-star-heavy review stream.

Chrome Web Store policy prohibits manipulating ratings and reviews through incentives. The entry condition violates that policy directly: a rating, a written comment and its link are the stated price of prize entry — exactly the incentivized engagement the policy prohibits.  [RV04](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#RV04)

### The policy mapping, row by row.

Google policy mapping from the supplied reports · every listed policy answered YES

| Policy | Violated | What the record shows |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Misrepresentation | **YES** | Nine demonstrably false or misleading developer claims, including denial of authorisation-secret collection the code performs. |
| Deceptive ads placement | **YES** | Hidden ad slots inside Steam pages, including a hardcoded HTTP banner shown to RU-locale users, while the operator claims one small reviewed banner. |
| Spam & placement | **YES** | 60% of five-star reviews under 40 characters; single-word duplicates; the “Featured” badge obtained via the above. |
| User Data Privacy | **YES** | maFile cloud sync, user info into Sentry and full economic telemetry, none disclosed in the store description. |
| Single Purpose | **YES** | Price helper, authenticator, trade bot, C2 agent, gambling and ads in one package. |

The corpus preserves the users’ own words: “THE DEVS ARE RUSSIANS AND THEY ARE MANIPULATING REVIEWS WITH BOT ACCOUNTS!” (4 November 2024); “scammed reviews and adverts for their casino” (17 May 2025); “Don't post your copy pasta about Google” (28 June 2024).  [RV01](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#RV01)   [RV03](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#RV03)

Rows follow the supplied research: the review-manipulation report’s policy table (Misrepresentation, Deceptive ads placement, Spam & placement, User Data Privacy) and the retained code audit’s policy verdict for the same extension (Single Purpose). Policy text: Chrome Web Store program policies.  [RV04](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#RV04)

31 MARCH 2026

### PRIME DROP

**51 reviews**  reported in the eight-day window; 50 five-star. The day of announcement has 12 reviews.

[Contest post 2625 ↗](https://t.me/sihofficial/2625)  [Entry form ↗](https://forms.gle/26RhQxXQdbKLYX7AA)

8 OCTOBER 2026

### PURE DROP

**One review**  recorded by 10 October. Results were scheduled for 15 October; this snapshot precedes completion.

[Contest post 3418 ↗](https://t.me/sihofficial/3418)  [Entry form ↗](https://forms.gle/QvsjSu7osN8zwCKn9)

RELATED MOBILE CAMPAIGN

### SKIN RAID

The supplied transcription targets **SIH.Mobile** . Announced 25 September 2025; its eight-day window records 49 reviews, 45 of them five-star, clustered on v2.7.x — the same week as the 950-participant mega-contest (post 2042).

[Contest post 3378 ↗](https://t.me/sihofficial/3378)  [Mobile entry form ↗](https://forms.gle/Bj4cJoNRoTiwWv3E6)

02 / THE CONTEST CHRONOLOGY

## Put the review stream beside the contest calendar.

The supplied table records six reviews for the window ending 28 February 2025, 46 for 7 March and 95 for 14 March. This is the flip, not an open lead: the same weekly contests that produced single-digit reviews through February 2025 produced 46 and then 95 written reviews in consecutive weeks, and from 7 March 2025 the review stream tracked the contest calendar for the next 15 months. Explore every recorded post below.  [RV02](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#RV02)

Put the flip in numbers: the 16 contest-post windows before 7 March 2025 contain 60 written-review observations, averaging 3.75 per window. The 68 windows from 7 March 2025 onward contain 2,887, averaging 42.46 per window — an 11.32-fold increase. The sustained March 2025–May 2026 period contains 59 windows averaging 46.97 reviews; the nine June–October 2026 windows average 12.89. These are sums and means of the displayed windows, which can overlap. The review stream follows the contest calendar.  [RV02](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#RV02)

**Written reviews per supplied contest window**  All ratings Five-star

17 OCT 2024  Peak: 122 reviews · 3 NOV 2025  2 OCT 2026

One bar and one row represent one contest-post window. Windows can overlap; two posts share 18 February 2026. Counts are not added into a total of unique reviews. The exact rows and original document are downloadable.  [Window totals and calculation record ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/case_assets/contest-calculation.json)

84 contest records shown.

[Download the 84 rows ↓](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/case_assets/assets/evidence/reviews-2026-10-11/contest-rows.json)

Contest posts and review counts transcribed from PhishDestroy’s supplied timeline

| Contest ended / post | Participants | Written reviews | 5★ | 1–2★ |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [2024-10-17 ↗ 329](https://t.me/sihofficial/329) | 965 | **2** | 0 | 2 |
| [2024-10-26 ↗ 372](https://t.me/sihofficial/372) | 739 | **2** | 1 | 1 |
| [2024-11-08 ↗ 443](https://t.me/sihofficial/443) | 727 | **4** | 2 | 2 |
| [2024-11-25 ↗ 506](https://t.me/sihofficial/506) | 466 | **3** | 3 | 0 |
| [2024-12-12 ↗ 588](https://t.me/sihofficial/588) | 539 | **2** | 1 | 0 |
| [2024-12-19 ↗ 608](https://t.me/sihofficial/608) | 1,268 | **2** | 0 | 2 |
| [2024-12-26 ↗ 625](https://t.me/sihofficial/625) | 937 | **1** | 0 | 1 |
| [2025-01-03 ↗ 645](https://t.me/sihofficial/645) | 898 | **1** | 0 | 1 |
| [2025-01-10 ↗ 658](https://t.me/sihofficial/658) | 1,013 | **3** | 1 | 1 |
| [2025-01-17 ↗ 678](https://t.me/sihofficial/678) | 1,222 | **2** | 1 | 1 |
| [2025-01-24 ↗ 693](https://t.me/sihofficial/693) | 1,199 | **2** | 2 | 0 |
| [2025-01-31 ↗ 717](https://t.me/sihofficial/717) | 1,366 | **5** | 4 | 0 |
| [2025-02-07 ↗ 734](https://t.me/sihofficial/734) | 1,197 | **5** | 4 | 0 |
| [2025-02-14 ↗ 753](https://t.me/sihofficial/753) | 1,306 | **9** | 6 | 3 |
| [2025-02-21 ↗ 769](https://t.me/sihofficial/769) | 1,198 | **11** | 8 | 2 |
| [2025-02-28 ↗ 781](https://t.me/sihofficial/781) | 1,108 | **6** | 5 | 1 |
| [2025-03-07 ↗ 796](https://t.me/sihofficial/796) | 719 | **46** | 27 | 16 |
| [2025-03-14 ↗ 812](https://t.me/sihofficial/812) | 605 | **95** | 74 | 16 |
| [2025-03-21 ↗ 837](https://t.me/sihofficial/837) | 542 | **79** | 72 | 6 |
| [2025-03-28 ↗ 881](https://t.me/sihofficial/881) | 508 | **70** | 66 | 4 |
| [2025-04-04 ↗ 922](https://t.me/sihofficial/922) | 516 | **53** | 49 | 4 |
| [2025-04-11 ↗ 962](https://t.me/sihofficial/962) | 531 | **88** | 79 | 7 |
| [2025-04-18 ↗ 1001](https://t.me/sihofficial/1001) | 422 | **68** | 61 | 3 |
| [2025-04-25 ↗ 1062](https://t.me/sihofficial/1062) | 409 | **38** | 32 | 4 |
| [2025-05-02 ↗ 1099](https://t.me/sihofficial/1099) | 406 | **48** | 45 | 3 |
| [2025-05-09 ↗ 1132](https://t.me/sihofficial/1132) | 458 | **48** | 43 | 3 |
| [2025-05-16 ↗ 1169](https://t.me/sihofficial/1169) | 330 | **65** | 54 | 10 |
| [2025-05-23 ↗ 1203](https://t.me/sihofficial/1203) | 251 | **49** | 42 | 7 |
| [2025-05-30 ↗ 1265](https://t.me/sihofficial/1265) | 240 | **42** | 38 | 1 |
| [2025-06-07 ↗ 1339](https://t.me/sihofficial/1339) | 223 | **21** | 17 | 2 |
| [2025-06-14 ↗ 1381](https://t.me/sihofficial/1381) | 211 | **24** | 22 | 1 |
| [2025-06-21 ↗ 1428](https://t.me/sihofficial/1428) | 262 | **25** | 23 | 1 |
| [2025-06-29 ↗ 1480](https://t.me/sihofficial/1480) | 258 | **64** | 62 | 1 |
| [2025-07-07 ↗ 1527](https://t.me/sihofficial/1527) | 253 | **45** | 44 | 0 |
| [2025-07-14 ↗ 1561](https://t.me/sihofficial/1561) | 330 | **67** | 63 | 2 |
| [2025-07-23 ↗ 1599](https://t.me/sihofficial/1599) | 244 | **65** | 60 | 3 |
| [2025-07-31 ↗ 1633](https://t.me/sihofficial/1633) | 241 | **27** | 26 | 1 |
| [2025-08-08 ↗ 1688](https://t.me/sihofficial/1688) | 226 | **31** | 31 | 0 |
| [2025-08-15 ↗ 1740](https://t.me/sihofficial/1740) | 213 | **26** | 25 | 0 |
| [2025-08-22 ↗ 1805](https://t.me/sihofficial/1805) | 200 | **20** | 19 | 0 |
| [2025-08-29 ↗ 1858](https://t.me/sihofficial/1858) | 221 | **31** | 31 | 0 |
| [2025-09-05 ↗ 1901](https://t.me/sihofficial/1901) | 237 | **43** | 41 | 0 |
| [2025-09-12 ↗ 1926](https://t.me/sihofficial/1926) | 200 | **41** | 38 | 2 |
| [2025-09-18 ↗ 1984](https://t.me/sihofficial/1984) | 265 | **39** | 36 | 2 |
| [2025-09-26 ↗ 2042](https://t.me/sihofficial/2042) | 950 | **56** | 50 | 4 |
| [2025-10-05 ↗ 2090](https://t.me/sihofficial/2090) | 1,000 | **43** | 40 | 2 |
| [2025-10-10 ↗ 2124](https://t.me/sihofficial/2124) | 287 | **52** | 49 | 3 |
| [2025-10-17 ↗ 2158](https://t.me/sihofficial/2158) | 317 | **55** | 53 | 1 |
| [2025-10-26 ↗ 2190](https://t.me/sihofficial/2190) | 470 | **101** | 93 | 3 |
| [2025-11-03 ↗ 2217](https://t.me/sihofficial/2217) | 1,293 | **122** | 115 | 2 |
| [2025-11-11 ↗ 2245](https://t.me/sihofficial/2245) | 301 | **78** | 76 | 2 |
| [2025-11-20 ↗ 2277](https://t.me/sihofficial/2277) | 248 | **51** | 50 | 1 |
| [2025-11-27 ↗ 2288](https://t.me/sihofficial/2288) | 449 | **27** | 26 | 1 |
| [2025-12-05 ↗ 2301](https://t.me/sihofficial/2301) | 186 | **38** | 37 | 0 |
| [2025-12-12 ↗ 2315](https://t.me/sihofficial/2315) | 445 | **23** | 23 | 0 |
| [2025-12-19 ↗ 2338](https://t.me/sihofficial/2338) | 338 | **53** | 50 | 1 |
| [2025-12-26 ↗ 2361](https://t.me/sihofficial/2361) | 286 | **44** | 42 | 2 |
| [2026-01-05 ↗ 2380](https://t.me/sihofficial/2380) | 193 | **37** | 34 | 2 |
| [2026-01-12 ↗ 2390](https://t.me/sihofficial/2390) | 238 | **61** | 54 | 3 |
| [2026-01-21 ↗ 2412](https://t.me/sihofficial/2412) | 256 | **26** | 23 | 2 |
| [2026-01-29 ↗ 2448](https://t.me/sihofficial/2448) | 483 | **46** | 44 | 1 |
| [2026-02-09 ↗ 2482](https://t.me/sihofficial/2482) | 336 | **37** | 35 | 1 |
| [2026-02-18 ↗ 2506](https://t.me/sihofficial/2506) | 1,299 | **41** | 39 | 1 |
| [2026-02-18 ↗ 2508](https://t.me/sihofficial/2508) | 308 | **41** | 39 | 1 |
| [2026-02-26 ↗ 2531](https://t.me/sihofficial/2531) | 253 | **51** | 50 | 0 |
| [2026-03-06 ↗ 2562](https://t.me/sihofficial/2562) | 257 | **26** | 25 | 0 |
| [2026-03-16 ↗ 2586](https://t.me/sihofficial/2586) | 265 | **20** | 18 | 1 |
| [2026-03-24 ↗ 2610](https://t.me/sihofficial/2610) | 175 | **45** | 42 | 0 |
| [2026-04-07 ↗ 2640](https://t.me/sihofficial/2640) | 257 | **52** | 51 | 0 |
| [2026-04-09 ↗ 2646](https://t.me/sihofficial/2646) | 269 | **39** | 38 | 0 |
| [2026-04-17 ↗ 2672](https://t.me/sihofficial/2672) | 288 | **49** | 47 | 1 |
| [2026-05-08 ↗ 2779](https://t.me/sihofficial/2779) | 181 | **21** | 20 | 0 |
| [2026-05-11 ↗ 2789](https://t.me/sihofficial/2789) | 251 | **16** | 15 | 0 |
| [2026-05-19 ↗ 2839](https://t.me/sihofficial/2839) | 166 | **22** | 21 | 1 |
| [2026-05-28 ↗ 2886](https://t.me/sihofficial/2886) | 205 | **40** | 38 | 2 |
| [2026-06-04 ↗ 2924](https://t.me/sihofficial/2924) | 202 | **23** | 22 | 1 |
| [2026-06-16 ↗ 2978](https://t.me/sihofficial/2978) | 201 | **9** | 8 | 1 |
| [2026-07-17 ↗ 3113](https://t.me/sihofficial/3113) | 239 | **12** | 10 | 1 |
| [2026-07-27 ↗ 3152](https://t.me/sihofficial/3152) | 230 | **25** | 24 | 1 |
| [2026-08-06 ↗ 3196](https://t.me/sihofficial/3196) | 233 | **18** | 17 | 0 |
| [2026-08-24 ↗ 3255](https://t.me/sihofficial/3255) | 125 | **3** | 2 | 1 |
| [2026-09-01 ↗ 3291](https://t.me/sihofficial/3291) | 168 | **9** | 8 | 1 |
| [2026-09-11 ↗ 3330](https://t.me/sihofficial/3330) | 116 | **10** | 10 | 0 |
| [2026-10-02 ↗ 3400](https://t.me/sihofficial/3400) | 125 | **7** | 7 | 0 |

The forms document the exchange; the chronology shows the machinery operating repeatedly. Weekly skin giveaways and the daily $5 SIH-balance activity campaign keep rewards circulating through the same community asked to rate the product. PhishDestroy’s finding is a sustained reputation-building operation, with contest rules, review links and internal-balance prizes forming its acquisition funnel.

The chronology holds two further coincidences. The flip week of 7 March 2025 is also the week extension v2.3.5/2.3.6 shipped (Telegram post 793) — the version carried by the March 2025 five-star flood — and the week the ad-injection rollout began, bringing the 1★ backlash that followed (28 negatives in March, the most since 2017). From mid-2025 the funnel shifted: participants fell 516→200 while reviews per contest stayed flat or rose (45–65) — fewer entrants, each now performing the review task.  [RV02](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#RV02)

03 / PUBLIC TRUST AND USER COMPLAINTS

## The stars and the complaints belong in the same record.

The supplied corpus contains 3,077 five-star reviews and 765 one- or two-star reviews. The negative-review report groups recurring complaints and preserves the developer’s responses.  [RV01](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#RV01)   [RV03](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#RV03)

**All 4,089 written reviews**  Rating distribution reported in the supplied corpus

5 **★** **3,077**

4 **★** **168**

3 **★** **79**

2 **★** **79**

1 **★** **686**

Five-star share: **75.3%** . Low-rating share: **18.7%** .

**Complaint themes**  Keyword groups in the supplied negative-review analysis

Advertising **313**

Privacy / permissions **142**

Review manipulation **46**

Bugs **45**

Money lost **29**

API hijack **1**

Themes can overlap; these are category counts.

REPEATED SHORT TEXT

### 1,859 short five-star reviews.

The supplied analysis counts 1,859 five-star texts under 40 characters. Repeated texts include “good” (96), “nice” (59), “very helpful” (51), “super” (51) and “very good” (42). Read those patterns beside the entry conditions and dates.

THE COMPLAINT WAVES

### Privacy, permissions and advertising.

The negative-review report identifies waves in September 2017, June 2024 and March–May 2025. Each wave mirrors a monetization push: the September 2017 monitoring script, the June 2024 all-URL permission grab, and the March–May 2025 injection of gambling advertising into Steam pages. The record answers all three: all-URL host access, casino ads inside Steam, and replies that deny, deflect and warn critics.

THE MISSING CORPUS FINDINGS

### The same installation version. The same words. The same incentive.

31 MARCH 2026 / PRIME DROP

#### Twelve reviews. Twelve five-star ratings.

The report records all twelve announcement-day reviews on extension version 2.9.19. Across the eight-day window, 50 of 51 reviews were five-star. The contest’s installation instruction and the same-version cluster belong in the same record.

THE DUPLICATE EVEN KEEPS THE TYPO

> “Insane ammount of essential trading infos. I love it”

The report records this identical text from two accounts, dated 7 and 28 September 2025. Together with 1,859 very short five-star texts and the repeated one-word reviews, it supplies the investigation’s template fingerprint.

2017 **121**

reviews on 19 September during the monitoring controversy.

JUNE 2024 **50**

one-star reviews during the expanded-permissions backlash.

MARCH 2025 **181 / 28**

five-star / one-star reviews as users complained about injected advertising.

The supplied analysis records the five-star flow rising from an estimated pre-2025 baseline of about 15 per month to 84–229 per month from March 2025. Its estimate of excess five-star reviews is 1,700–2,000. This is the author’s corpus analysis of the inflation in public trust.  [RV01](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#RV01)   [RV03](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#RV03)

04 / THE OPERATOR’S OWN ANSWERS

## Read the reply. Then inspect the mechanism.

The report records 286 developer replies, including repeated templates. Below, dated statements are placed beside the relevant public capture or pinned code record. The full wording and additional replies remain in the supplied document.  [RV03](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#RV03)

Apr–May 2025 31 replies

### “we are given advertisements to display, and we simply show them”

The replies also offer a subscription to remove the ads. Who selects the advertiser, sets the placement and receives the revenue?

[Advertising exhibits ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/csgofast-sih.html#screens)

June 2024 17 replies

### Broad permissions attributed to the Manifest V3 migration.

The permission request and each operation using it belong in the same disclosure. Compare the explanation with the registered handlers and gates in the pinned 2.12.1 package.

[Permissions and controller gates ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/csgofast-sih.html#SC03)

February 2026 4 replies

### One partner banner; a paid subscription removes advertising.

The supplied Steam captures show commercial placements, external offers and paid ad removal inside the same product.

[Captured placements ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/csgofast-sih.html#screens)

January 2026 3 replies

### Reviewers are told they bear responsibility for comments described as unlawful.

Publish the exact disputed claim and the evidence answering it. A warning to a critic does not explain the behaviour they reported.

[Reply corpus ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#RV03)

October 2025 3 replies

### The product has several affiliate-banner slots.

The commercial layer is part of the product. Its operators should disclose the advertiser, targeting, destination and payment relationship.

[Country and language in ad requests ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/csgofast-sih.html#SC30)

March 2025 / August 2026 Dated individual replies

### No collection of authorisation/API data; account loss attributed to phishing.

The pinned 2.12.1 package has an inspectable token-return handler and authenticated Steam operations. A dated reply must be read alongside the build and pathway it addresses.

[Token-return code record ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/csgofast-sih.html#SC31)

December 2023 / October 2025 Dated individual replies

### No gambling-project plans or connection, according to the replies.

Follow the named operators, the displayed promotion and the client integration. The CSGOFast case supplies those separate commercial and technical records.

[“Not gambling” and the integration ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/csgofast-sih.html#non-casino)

March 2025 Dated individual reply

### A four-star reviewer is asked for five stars.

Place the rating request beside the giveaway forms that make a review part of entry. The trust signal is being actively managed.

[Review-for-entry forms ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#entry-mechanism)

The pattern is denial, minimisation and deflection: Google’s review process is invoked as reassurance, multiple placements become “one banner”, and an account-access product is described as collecting no authorisation data. The dated replies, the publisher’s own admissions and the retained code make those statements confrontable. The technical appendix identifies version 2.12.1 by file, hash and byte location; the supplied report preserves the earlier build analysis.

NINE CONTRADICTIONS / FROM THE SUPPLIED REPORTS

### The denial is public. So is the evidence.

01 / GOOGLE AS A SHIELD 30 MAR / 28 MAY 2026

#### “every version of our extension goes through Google’s review process”

The ad content is delivered by SIH’s servers. The supplied report identifies the live ad request and targeting object; the retained code carries country and language inputs. Store review is used to reassure the user about an advertising decision made by the operator after installation.

[Ad-selection inputs ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/csgofast-sih.html#SC30)

02 / ONE BANNER / SEVERAL SLOTS SEP 2025 → JUN 2026

#### “only a single partner banner”

The same reply corpus contains the admission “several slots for affiliate banners”. The supplied code report names five placement tokens, while the screenshots show top and side promotions, market controls and an offer to pay for ad removal. The minimisation is contradicted by the product’s own interface.

[All five screenshots ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/csgofast-sih.html#screens)

03 / THE GAMBLING DENIAL 30 OCT 2025

#### “we have absolutely no connection to anything of that kind”

The retained material names the CSGOFast referral, Gainskins banner feed and SIH’s case-opening service. Casino promotion appears directly inside Steam’s pages. Calling it a partner banner does not sever the commercial relationship.

[CSGOFast and the integration ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/csgofast-sih.html#non-casino)

04 / AUTHORISATION DATA 24 MAR 2025 / 31 AUG 2026

#### “does not collect authorization access, API keys, or any similar information”

The product contains authenticator records, cloud-backup machinery, authenticated Steam operations and a handler that returns a WebAPI token. The sweeping denial cannot describe the account-access architecture retained in this investigation.

[Token-return handler ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/csgofast-sih.html#SC31)

05 / USER CONFIRMATION 24 MAR 2025

#### “does not have the functionality to perform any selling actions without user confirmation”

The supplied report documents automatic-confirmation settings and an autonomous buy loop. The pinned package also registers sell and remove-listing tasks plus send, accept, decline and cancel trade events. Confirmation itself has been turned into an automation feature.

[Command inventory ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/csgofast-sih.html#command-inventory)

06 / THE PERMISSION EXPANSION 2020 → JUN 2024

#### “only those listed in the permissions”

The 2020 response named six domains. The later manifest requests all-URL host access alongside cookies, webRequest and management. The change is a substantial expansion of the product’s reach across the browser.

[Manifest and package record ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/extension-audit.html)

07 / MV3 AS AN EXPLANATION JUN 2024 / 17 REPLIES

#### Google’s Manifest V3 migration is invoked to explain the permissions.

The supplied report identifies the deflection: migration to MV3 does not require SIH’s particular combination of all-URL access, cookies and management permissions. Those are product choices serving its implemented functions.

[Report §4 / claim 7 ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#RV01)

08 / BLAME THE CRITICS 18 MAR 2025

#### “someone has launched an entire anti-advertising campaign against SIH”

March 2025 contains 28 one-star complaints alongside 181 five-star reviews in the supplied corpus. Users describe gambling ads inserted into Steam. The documented incentive campaign belongs to SIH; complaints about the inserted advertising are recast as a campaign against it.

[Review and complaint counts ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#review-corpus)

09 / DENIAL, THEN ADMISSION 2 OCT 2017 → 6 JAN 2018

#### “This information is fake” → “This analytics script was removed long ago”

The first reply denied the reported script; the later reply acknowledged its removal. The supplied reply archive preserves both statements. That reversal belongs beside the subsequent assurances about what the extension can and cannot do.

[Dated reply archive ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#RV03)

Statements and dates: supplied review reports [RV01, RV03]. Code links identify the retained version and implementation being compared.

05 / THE PRICE OF THE INCENTIVE

## A small prize pool. A persistent reputation asset.

The PRIME DROP report lists a $26.74 prize pool. Compare that advertised pool with the review activity recorded around its announcement.  [RV02](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#RV02)

ADVERTISED POOL **$26.74**

Three reported prizes: $9.07 + $11.30 + $6.37.

POOL ÷ 12 DAY-OF REVIEWS **$2.23**

Prize-pool amount per observed review on the announcement date.

POOL ÷ 51 WINDOW REVIEWS **$0.52**

Prize-pool amount per observed review over the eight-day window.

The calculation divides the advertised prize pool by the review counts in the named windows. It shows how cheaply a small giveaway can sit behind a much larger public reputation signal.

The economic design is the documented finding: the reward campaign bought a lasting public trust signal — 2,887 review observations across 68 post-flip contest windows; the supplied research estimates ≈$0.50–$0.80 per motivated five-star review — visible long after each prize was distributed. The reports describe prizes credited back into SIH’s own balance system, keeping the reward inside its commercial environment. SIH should disclose the entry proofs, winners, credited amounts and review instructions for every campaign.

### The rest of the incentive economy.

Figures and estimates from the supplied research · valuation date 11 October 2026

| Campaign / estimate | Supplied figure | What it represents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SKIN RAID · SIH.Mobile | $37.42 | Prize pool. The report associates its window with 49 reviews, 45 five-star, and calculates $0.76–0.83 per observed review/five-star review. |
| PURE DROP · extension | $38.94 / 74 | Prize pool and participants in the snapshot: approximately $0.53 of pool value per participant. One review recorded before the scheduled 15 October result. |
| Author’s working range | $0.50–$2.50 | Estimated face-value incentive cost per motivated five-star review, based on the reported campaign windows. |
| Estimated reputation budget | $1,700–$4,400 | The report’s estimate using 1,700–2,000 excess five-star reviews and approximately $1–$2.20 per review. |

**The prize comes back into SIH’s own balance.**  The reward creates store credit in the operator’s ecosystem while the review becomes an outward-facing acquisition asset. The report also records a daily $5 balance campaign and weekly skin giveaways. The daily $5 campaign began in April 2025, and the reported giveaways include campaigns with 600–1,200 participants. Across roughly $15–40 weekly pools, the supplied research estimates ≈$0.50–$0.80 per motivated five-star review during the sustained program. This is an ongoing commercial incentive system.  [RV01](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/reviews-and-incentives#RV01)

06 / WHY THIS BELONGS IN THE VALVE INVESTIGATION

## Manipulate the rating. Monetise the Steam interface.

A review is part of the route by which a user decides to install software that operates inside a valuable account. That makes reputation, access and commercial control parts of the same investigation.

The CSGOFast/SIH case documents advertising inside Steam pages, outside storefronts, paid ad removal, authenticator features and registered remote Steam operations. This chapter adds the acquisition layer: the way the extension seeks reviews and answers complaints while asking users to trust that access.

Valve should explain how its rules apply to the business carried through these accounts and interfaces. SIH should disclose the permissions, server instructions, advertising relationships and contest records. Google should account for enforcement of its published review policy. Each controls a different part of the same route.

[FOLLOW THE NEXT STEP **From installation to authenticated Steam operations.** Inspect the remote-command paths, token-return handler and retained package record ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/csgofast-sih.html#control)

07 / THE SOURCE RECORD

## Read the documents. Keep the original wording.

The supplied reports are preserved verbatim. This page reproduces their attributed findings and the 84 table rows; it does not replace the underlying research files.

1. RV01 / SUPPLIED RESEARCH

### Review Manipulation Evidence

Corpus totals, rating distribution, form transcriptions, incentive analysis and campaign records. Compiled 11 October 2026, with review data through 10 October.

[Download the original report ↓](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/case_assets/assets/evidence/reviews-2026-10-11/REVIEW-MANIPULATION-EVIDENCE.md)
2. RV02 / SUPPLIED CHRONOLOGY

### Contest Timeline

All 84 contest-post rows, direct post links and campaign windows. The webpage’s explorer uses the table rows, preserving the same-day pair as two post records.

[Download the original timeline ↓](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/case_assets/assets/evidence/reviews-2026-10-11/CONTEST-TIMELINE.md)
3. RV03 / SUPPLIED REPLY ANALYSIS

### Negatives and Replies

Complaint groups, review waves, repeated developer answers and individual dated responses.

[Download the original analysis ↓](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/case_assets/assets/evidence/reviews-2026-10-11/NEGATIVES-AND-REPLIES.md)
4. RV04 / PRIMARY POLICY

### Chrome Web Store program policies

The policy addresses incentivized ratings and reviews, advertising and the disclosure of extension behaviour. Reviewed 11 October 2026.

[Read the official policies ↗](https://developer.chrome.com/docs/webstore/program-policies/policies)

**Collection and preservation record**

The three Markdown reports were supplied to this investigation. Their raw review datasets and Telegram export are referenced in the reports but were not part of this handoff. Telegram posts and Google Forms could not be reopened during this publication check; the page identifies their excerpts as supplied transcriptions.

The 84-row table and rating histogram preserve the supplied data. The article’s window totals and means are recalculated from those rows; the original reports retain their supplied summary figures unchanged. The mobile campaign stays separate from the extension campaign. New source material can extend this record without changing the preserved originals.

[Original-file hashes and sizes ↗](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/case_assets/assets/evidence/reviews-2026-10-11/manifest.json)

### All three supplied reports, in full.

**Review manipulation — complete supplied report**

Original author text, unchanged.  [Download this original ↓](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/case_assets/assets/evidence/reviews-2026-10-11/REVIEW-MANIPULATION-EVIDENCE.md)

```text
# Review Manipulation & Developer Misrepresentation — Evidence Report
## Steam Inventory Helper (SIH) v2.11.12–2.12.1 (`cmeakgjggjdlcpncigglobpjbkabhmjl`, RedBoon Limited)

**Method.** All 4,089 written Chrome Web Store reviews (every review ever left, 2014–2026-10-10) were collected via the Apify `automation-lab/chrome-web-store-reviews-scraper` actor + a local Playwright pass with "Lowest to highest rating" sort (765 negative reviews, 286 with developer replies). Contest data: full Telegram channel export (`t.me/sihofficial`, 3,330 posts, user-provided JSON). Skin prices: cs2.sh API (BUFF/Youpin/CSFloat/Skinport/Steam/C5Game asks, 2026-10-11). Code facts: from the webcrack-decompiled build (see `C2-BOTNET-EVIDENCE.md`, `POLICY-VIOLATIONS.md`).

---

# 1. THE SCHEME (PROVEN, END-TO-END)

## 1.1 The instruction to reviewers is verbatim on their own Google Form

Giveaway of 2026-10-08 («PURE DROP», Telegram post #3418, results 2026-10-15). The linked Google Form (forms.gle/QvsjSu7osN8zwCKn9) says, verbatim:

> *"To participate in the giveaway, you also need to **leave any comment about your experience with SIH extension on the Google Web Store page, rate SIH and attach the link to your comment**. Additionally, please provide your Telegram profile for contact. You should follow these steps: 1.) Download SIH from Google WebStore by link … 2.) Leave a comment and copy the link. Link of a comment on Google WebStore (like https://chromewebstore.google.com/reviews/...)"*

Form fields: `Your Telegram profile (@)` + `Link of a comment on Google WebStore`. Prizes: paid onto the winner's **SIH balance**.

This is a **paid-review operation**: rating + comment + proof-of-review-link in exchange for a lottery ticket for skins. It violates Google's policies on **fake and incentivized engagement** (ratings/reviews exchanged for compensation must be disclosed as such; incentivized ratings are removable) and — since the store badge "Featured / 4.5" is marketing currency — constitutes misrepresentation.

## 1.2 The three Google-Form contests (found in the channel export)

| Contest | Announced (Telegram) | Target | Form | Prizes (places 1–3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| «PRIME DROP» | 2026-03-31 (#2625) | SIH (extension) | forms.gle/26RhQxXQdbKLYX7AA | AK-47 \| Aphrodite (WW); AWP \| Ice Coaled (MW); M4A4 \| Spider Lily (FT) |
| «SKIN RAID» | 2025-09-25 (#3378) | SIH.Mobile app | forms.gle/Bj4cJoNRoTiwWv3E6 | Zeus x27 \| Dragon Snore (MW); Cmdr. Mae 'Dead Cold' Jamison \| SWAT; Charm \| Baby Karat CT |
| «PURE DROP» | 2026-10-08 (#3418) | SIH Extension | forms.gle/QvsjSu7osN8zwCKn9 | FAMAS \| Afterimage (MW); Patch \| Howl; Galil AR \| Dusk Ruins (MW) |

Beyond these, the channel has run **weekly skin giveaways since 2024-10** with 600–1,200 participants each (self-reported: "Participated 1 198 people", "1 108", "719", "605"…), plus a daily "$5 to sih.app balance" chat activity campaign since April 2025 — a standing incentive machinery pointed at the community that reviews them.

---

# 2. ECONOMICS: THE PRICE OF ONE MOTIVATED 5★ REVIEW

Prices = lowest current ask across BUFF/Youpin/CSFloat/Skinport/Steam/C5Game (cs2.sh, 2026-10-11). "Reviews" = all reviews in the 8-day window after each announcement (attribution per §3).

| Contest | Prize pool (face value) | Attribution | 5★ among them | **Cost per review** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRIME DROP (2026-03-31) | $26.74 ($9.07 + $11.30 + $6.37) | day-of burst: 12 reviews on announcement day (vs 3–5/day baseline); 8-day window: 51 | 50 of 51 (98%) | **$2.23** (day-of burst); $0.52 (full window) |
| SKIN RAID (2025-09-25) | $37.42 ($17.29 + $12.39 + $7.74) | 8-day window: 49, version-clustered on v2.7.x | 45 | **$0.76–0.83** |
| PURE DROP (2026-10-08) | $38.94 ($18.86 + $13.52 + $6.56) | 1 so far (contest live, 74 "Join" at fetch; results 2026-10-15) | 1 | **$0.53** per participant (EV); final per-review pending |

**Working figure: $0.5–2.5 buys one motivated 5-star review** — face value. The real marginal cost is lower: prizes are credited to the **SIH internal balance** (spendable only inside SIH's own ecosystem), so the operation converts store-credit IOUs into Chrome Web Store rating points. Weekly-contest program total: ~3,000 reviews over 69 contest weeks at ~$15–40 pools → **≈ $0.5–0.8/review sustained over 15 months** (full table with post links: `CONTEST-TIMELINE.md`).

**Scale estimate.** Baseline organic 5★ ≈ 15/month (pre-2025). Since 2025-03 the flow is 84–229/month (2025: 1,569 5★; 2026: 693 by October). Excess 5★ ≈ 1,700–2,000 reviews. At $1–2.2 each: **$1,700–4,400 face value to buy the "4.5★ / Featured" badge** — pocket change against the revenue of a 1M-user extension with an ad network, gambling partners and subscriptions.

---

# 3. REVIEW-BURST FORENSICS (ALL 4,089 REVIEWS)

## 3.1 Volume timeline

| Period | Written reviews/month | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-06 → 2025-02 | 5–30 (organic); one 2017-09 spike (314/mo, 369× 1★ that year — historical security scandal wave) | organic |
| **2025-03** | **214 (×10 jump; 181× 5★)** | program start |
| 2025-04 → 2026-05 | 88–244/month, 89–94% are 5★ | sustained inflation |
| 2026-06 → 2026-10 | 36–51/month (contests pivot to SIH.Mobile) | tapering |

Overall histogram: 3,077× 5★ (75%) / 686× 1★ / 79× 2★ / 79× 3★ / 168× 4★.

## 3.2 Burst-days match contest days exactly

- **2026-03-31 (PRIME DROP announced): 12 reviews that day (×3 the daily baseline), all 5★, every single one from extension version 2.9.19** (fresh installers — contest requires "Download SIH"); 51 reviews in the 8-day window, 50 five-star. Texts: "great", "super", "best one", "best extension ever", "super easy to make profit on cs2 with SIH"…
- **2025-09-25 → 10-02 (SKIN RAID): 49 reviews, 45× 5★**, version-clustered on v2.7.0/2.7.1; same week as a 950-participant mega-contest (t.me/sihofficial/2042).
- **2026-10-08 → 10-10 (PURE DROP): first contest review appears 2026-10-10, 5★, v2.12.1** ("Very good app, thank you!" — 2 days after the form opened).
- 2025-03-07/08/10/12…: daily 8–27 reviews — the program ramp-up month.

## 3.3 Template fingerprints

- 1,859 of 3,077 five-star reviews (60%) are under 40 characters.
- Exact duplicate bodies: **"good" ×96, "nice" ×59, "very helpful" ×51, "super" ×51, "very good" ×42**…
- Verbatim duplicate with identical typo across different accounts: *"Insane ammount of essential trading infos. I love it"* (MOONS 2025-09-28; Ioana Andrei 2025-09-07) — a handed-out template, typo included.
- 1-star reviews cluster around real events (2024-06 permissions backlash; 2025-03 ad-injection backlash — 28 negatives that month, the highest since 2017) and are then drowned by the 5★ flow (e.g. 2025-03: 181× 5★ vs 28× 1★).
- Users call it out themselves: *"THE DEVS ARE RUSSIANS AND THEY ARE MANIPULATING REVIEWS WITH BOT ACCOUNTS!"* (2024-11-04); *"scammed reviews and adverts for their casino"* (2025-05-17); *"Don't post your copy pasta about Google"* (2024-06-28).

---

# 4. DEVELOPER REPLIES vs. CODE REALITY (THE MISREPRESENTATION TABLE)

286 reviews carry a reply from **"SIH Tech Support — Developer"**. The replies are heavily copy-pasted (one identical MV3 template was posted 15+ times in June 2024; the "It is very unfortunate to see misleading comments" template repeated verbatim). Each factual claim below is quoted from a real reply (date given), then checked against the decompiled code.

| # | Developer claim (reply, date) | Code reality (decompiled) | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | *"SIH and all its content undergo regular moderation by Google"* (2026-03-30); *"every version of our extension goes through Google's review process"* (2026-05-28) | Google reviews submitted code, not runtime behavior. Ad content is fetched **live** from `ads.steaminventoryhelper.com/adapi/<token>/find-all` with per-user targeting payload `{f:{…}}` (922.js:84640–84670); DNR header rules are created at **runtime** (shipped `rules.json` = `[]`); 4 C2 event names are obfuscated (`vYPR…`) | **Misleading.** Store review cannot see dynamically served content; "moderated by Google" is used as false assurance for ads the server can swap per user/IP at any moment |
| 2 | *"we have only one affiliate banner… advertising Valve's eSports tournament"* (2025-09-13/22/23, ×9); *"only a single partner banner of a relatively small size at the top of the screen"* (2026-06-15) | Five ad slots (`marketSponsor`, `tradeoffer`, `marketLeftSideBanner`, `externalIntegrationBanner`, `marketSponsorBanner`), four ad sources (`ads.*`, `download.*/banners`, `gainskins.*`, `t.sih-db.com`) + hardcoded **HTTP** banner `http://23.105.226.164/Phx3RR?placement=refillpage` shown only to RU-locale users, injected into Steam's add-funds page | **False.** Multiple banners, multiple networks, gambling partners (CSGOFAST referral `subid2=csgofast`), geo-targeted — exactly the "by-IP on the fly" behavior users describe |
| 3 | *"we have absolutely no connection to anything of that kind"* re: "real money gambling inside" (2025-10-30) | `cases.steaminventoryhelper.com` (case-opening: `openCase`, `sellInventoryItem`, `withdrawalInventoryItem`, `getTopProfit`), CSGOFAST referral in the trade window, gainskins gambling banner feed, Steam balance refill via `foreign.foreignpay.ru` | **False** |
| 4 | *"our extension does not collect authorization access, API keys, or any similar information"* (2025-03-24); *"The extension do not have access to API key so it can't be changed"* (2026-08-31); *"SIH does not have any functionality for collecting authorization data"* (2024-12-24) | Full authentication stack in code: `IAuthenticationService/BeginAuthSessionViaCredentials` (Steam **password** login), `ITwoFactorService/AddAuthenticator` (registers itself as the **Steam Guard** authenticator), maFiles (`shared_secret`/`identity_secret`) in IndexedDB **and uploaded** to `core.sih.app/sih/backups/sync` (922.js:99652–99664), `sessionid`/`steamLoginSecure` cookies read via `chrome.cookies` | **False — the most serious one.** The extension is architecturally capable of exactly what the reviews accuse it of (multiple 2024–2026 reviews report stolen Steam balances and API-key hijacks) |
| 5 | *"SIH does not have the functionality to perform any selling actions without user confirmation"* (2025-03-24) | `auto_confirm_trades`, `market_autoconfirm`, `market_purchase_autoconfirm` settings; `trader_tool.steam.sell_item(s)`, `remove_listing(s)` executable via C2 `task.new`; `tradesend`/`tradeaccept` events; autonomous buy loop with user's balance (922.js:127030–127218) | **False** |
| 6 | *"we do not have access to all sites on the Internet, but only those listed in the permissions"* (2023-11-19); (2020-10-21 reply listed only Steam domains) | Since 2024-06: `host_permissions: ["<all_urls>"]` + `cookies` + `webRequest` + `management` | Was true in 2020–2023; **stale/false for the current build** |
| 7 | *"Starting from June 1, 2024, Google requires all extensions to migrate to the Manifest V3 standards"* (posted 15+ times, June 2024, as the explanation for `<all_urls>`/cookies/management permissions) | MV3 is mandatory — true. **But MV3 does not require** `<all_urls>`, `cookies`, `management` or `webRequest`; those are SIH's own choices (their own 2020 reply confirms narrow-domain operation was possible) | **True fact used to mask a false conclusion** |
| 8 | *"someone has launched an entire anti-advertising campaign against SIH"* (2025-03-18, dismissing the 1★ wave) | The 2025-03 1★ wave (28) coincides with the ad-injection rollout (v2.3.6/2.3.8 complaints: "injecting external ads", "gambling ads"); simultaneously SIH's own incentivized 5★ program starts (181 that month) | **Inversion of reality**: the only documented "campaign" is their own |
| 9 | *"You can check our code and find nothing related to your initial message"* (2020-10-21) | Webpack-obfuscated 4 MB bundle, runtime-created DNR rules, obfuscated C2 event names, remote feature toggles (`sih_app_market_toggle`) | **Practically meaningless** — and remains their standard answer to "spyware" (×13 identical 1★ reviews) and the 171 reviews mentioning scam/spyware/stealing |

**Pattern.** Replies (a) cite Google moderation as a shield for behavior Google cannot observe, (b) minimize ad injection ("one small banner"), (c) deny authorization-data collection that the code demonstrably performs, (d) blame victims ("phishing website or malware… change all your passwords", 2026-08-31), and (e) subtly threaten reviewers ("you bear responsibility for posting comments of this kind that may be considered unlawful", 2026-01-07) — a mild SLAPP flavor aimed at silencing negatives.

---

# 5. GOOGLE POLICY MAPPING

| Policy | Violated? | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| **Fake engagement / incentivized ratings** (ratings & reviews must be unbiased; compensation for ratings prohibited) | **YES — direct** | §1.1: form requires rating + comment + link submission for giveaway entry; §3.2: burst-days = contest days, same-version clusters; §3.3: template texts |
| **Misrepresentation** (deceiving users about behavior) | **YES** | §4: 9 demonstrably false/misleading developer claims, incl. denial of authorization-secret collection the code performs |
| **Deceptive ads placement** | **YES** | hidden ad slots inside Steam pages incl. HTTP hardcoded-IP banner (RU-only) — while officially claiming "one small reviewed banner" |
| **Spam & placement in the store** | **YES** | 60% of 5★ reviews are <40 chars; single-word duplicates ("good" ×96); "Featured" badge obtained via the above |
| **User Data Privacy (limited use / disclosure)** | **YES** (per prior audit) | maFile cloud sync, userInfo into Sentry, full economic telemetry — none disclosed in the store description |

---

# 6. EVIDENCE INDEX (reproducible)

- Reviews dataset: `%TEMP%\opencode\cws_all.json` (4,089 items, Apify run), `scraper\lowest_fixed.json` (lowest-rating sort, 1,010 parsed), `scraper\dev_replies.json` (286 review+reply pairs)
- Contests: `ChatExport_2026-10-10/result.json` (posts #2625, #3378, #3418; winners posts since 2024-10)
- Google Forms (live at fetch time): QvsjSu7osN8zwCKn9 (PURE DROP, quoted in §1.1), 26RhQxXQdbKLYX7AA (PRIME DROP), Bj4cJoNRoTiwWv3E6 (SKIN RAID)
- Prices: cs2.sh `/v1/prices/latest` (2026-10-11)
- Code refs: `C2-BOTNET-EVIDENCE.md` §2.3–§2.4, §4–§6; webcrack output line numbers as cited

*Date-stamped 2026-10-11. Contest PURE DROP completes 2026-10-15 — a re-scrape after that date is recommended to capture its final review burst (expected +10–35 five-star reviews on v2.12.1, closing the $0.5–3.2/review estimate).*
```

**Contests — complete supplied chronology**

Original author text, unchanged.  [Download this original ↓](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/case_assets/assets/evidence/reviews-2026-10-11/CONTEST-TIMELINE.md)

````text
# Contest ↔ Review Dynamics — Full Timeline with Post Links
## Steam Inventory Helper — companion to `REVIEW-MANIPULATION-EVIDENCE.md`
*Compiled 2026-10-11. Review counts = CWS written reviews in the 7-day contest-entry window (contest_end −7…+1 days); form contests = 8-day window from announcement. All post links: `https://t.me/sihofficial/<id>`.*

---

## 1. THE FLIP — 2025-03-07 (post 796)

**Before (2024-10 → 2025-02):** 15 weekly contests, 400–1,300 participants each — and **2–6 reviews per week** (pure organic; the Telegram contests did not touch the store).

**After (week of 2025-03-07 onward):** the same weekly contest cycle produces **40–120 reviews per week**, 85–95% of them 5★, synchronized with the contest cycle for the next 15 months (88 contest weeks tracked).

| Metric | 2024-10…2025-02 | 2025-03…2026-05 | 2026-06…2026-10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg written reviews/week | **2.6** | **34.5** | 8.4 |
| Weekly contest participants | 400–1,366 | declining 516→200 | 125–230 |
| Reviews per contest week | 1–9 | **38–122** | 3–25 |

The flip week coincides with extension v2.3.5/2.3.6 (update post id 793, 2025-03-07) — the version carried by the March 2025 5★ flood — and with the ad-injection rollout that triggered the 1★ backlash the same month (28 negatives, the most since 2017). From that week, review flow tracks the contest cycle almost perfectly: **every contest week = a review burst week**.

What changed in the contest format is not visible in the public EN channel (entry conditions run inside **@ContestMasterBot** / external pages, e.g. `t.me/ContestMasterBot?start=contestWinners_iydXfs`). The review-for-entry requirement is *explicitly* documented only in the three Google-Form contests (§3 below) — but the weekly synchronization from 2025-03-07 leaves little doubt the same mechanic was added to the standing weekly contests.

---

## 2. WEEKLY CONTESTS ↔ REVIEWS (all 84 "contest is over" posts)

Format: `post link | contest ended | participants | reviews in entry week | 5★ | 1–2★`

```
t.me/sihofficial/329  | 2024-10-17 |  965 |  2 |  0 |  2
t.me/sihofficial/372  | 2024-10-26 |  739 |  2 |  1 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/443  | 2024-11-08 |  727 |  4 |  2 |  2
t.me/sihofficial/506  | 2024-11-25 |  466 |  3 |  3 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/588  | 2024-12-12 |  539 |  2 |  1 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/608  | 2024-12-19 | 1268 |  2 |  0 |  2
t.me/sihofficial/625  | 2024-12-26 |  937 |  1 |  0 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/645  | 2025-01-03 |  898 |  1 |  0 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/658  | 2025-01-10 | 1013 |  3 |  1 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/678  | 2025-01-17 | 1222 |  2 |  1 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/693  | 2025-01-24 | 1199 |  2 |  2 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/717  | 2025-01-31 | 1366 |  5 |  4 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/734  | 2025-02-07 | 1197 |  5 |  4 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/753  | 2025-02-14 | 1306 |  9 |  6 |  3
t.me/sihofficial/769  | 2025-02-21 | 1198 | 11 |  8 |  2
t.me/sihofficial/781  | 2025-02-28 | 1108 |  6 |  5 |  1
─── THE FLIP ───
t.me/sihofficial/796  | 2025-03-07 |  719 | 46 | 27 | 16   ← program starts
t.me/sihofficial/812  | 2025-03-14 |  605 | 95 | 74 | 16
t.me/sihofficial/837  | 2025-03-21 |  542 | 79 | 72 |  6
t.me/sihofficial/881  | 2025-03-28 |  508 | 70 | 66 |  4
t.me/sihofficial/922  | 2025-04-04 |  516 | 53 | 49 |  4
t.me/sihofficial/962  | 2025-04-11 |  531 | 88 | 79 |  7
t.me/sihofficial/1001 | 2025-04-18 |  422 | 68 | 61 |  3
t.me/sihofficial/1062 | 2025-04-25 |  409 | 38 | 32 |  4
t.me/sihofficial/1099 | 2025-05-02 |  406 | 48 | 45 |  3
t.me/sihofficial/1132 | 2025-05-09 |  458 | 48 | 43 |  3
t.me/sihofficial/1169 | 2025-05-16 |  330 | 65 | 54 | 10
t.me/sihofficial/1203 | 2025-05-23 |  251 | 49 | 42 |  7
t.me/sihofficial/1265 | 2025-05-30 |  240 | 42 | 38 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/1339 | 2025-06-07 |  223 | 21 | 17 |  2
t.me/sihofficial/1381 | 2025-06-14 |  211 | 24 | 22 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/1428 | 2025-06-21 |  262 | 25 | 23 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/1480 | 2025-06-29 |  258 | 64 | 62 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/1527 | 2025-07-07 |  253 | 45 | 44 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/1561 | 2025-07-14 |  330 | 67 | 63 |  2
t.me/sihofficial/1599 | 2025-07-23 |  244 | 65 | 60 |  3
t.me/sihofficial/1633 | 2025-07-31 |  241 | 27 | 26 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/1688 | 2025-08-08 |  226 | 31 | 31 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/1740 | 2025-08-15 |  213 | 26 | 25 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/1805 | 2025-08-22 |  200 | 20 | 19 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/1858 | 2025-08-29 |  221 | 31 | 31 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/1901 | 2025-09-05 |  237 | 43 | 41 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/1926 | 2025-09-12 |  200 | 41 | 38 |  2
t.me/sihofficial/1984 | 2025-09-18 |  265 | 39 | 36 |  2
t.me/sihofficial/2042 | 2025-09-26 |  950 | 56 | 50 |  4   ← SKIN RAID week (mega-contest)
t.me/sihofficial/2090 | 2025-10-05 | 1000 | 43 | 40 |  2
t.me/sihofficial/2124 | 2025-10-10 |  287 | 52 | 49 |  3
t.me/sihofficial/2158 | 2025-10-17 |  317 | 55 | 53 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/2190 | 2025-10-26 |  470 | 101 | 93 |  3
t.me/sihofficial/2217 | 2025-11-03 | 1293 | 122 | 115 |  2  ← peak (1,293 participants)
t.me/sihofficial/2245 | 2025-11-11 |  301 | 78 | 76 |  2
t.me/sihofficial/2277 | 2025-11-20 |  248 | 51 | 50 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/2288 | 2025-11-27 |  449 | 27 | 26 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/2301 | 2025-12-05 |  186 | 38 | 37 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/2315 | 2025-12-12 |  445 | 23 | 23 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/2338 | 2025-12-19 |  338 | 53 | 50 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/2361 | 2025-12-26 |  286 | 44 | 42 |  2
t.me/sihofficial/2380 | 2026-01-05 |  193 | 37 | 34 |  2
t.me/sihofficial/2390 | 2026-01-12 |  238 | 61 | 54 |  3
t.me/sihofficial/2412 | 2026-01-21 |  256 | 26 | 23 |  2
t.me/sihofficial/2448 | 2026-01-29 |  483 | 46 | 44 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/2482 | 2026-02-09 |  336 | 37 | 35 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/2506 | 2026-02-18 | 1299 | 41 | 39 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/2508 | 2026-02-18 |  308 | 41 | 39 |  1   (same week, two contests)
t.me/sihofficial/2531 | 2026-02-26 |  253 | 51 | 50 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/2562 | 2026-03-06 |  257 | 26 | 25 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/2586 | 2026-03-16 |  265 | 20 | 18 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/2610 | 2026-03-24 |  175 | 45 | 42 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/2640 | 2026-04-07 |  257 | 52 | 51 |  0   ← PRIME DROP week
t.me/sihofficial/2646 | 2026-04-09 |  269 | 39 | 38 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/2672 | 2026-04-17 |  288 | 49 | 47 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/2779 | 2026-05-08 |  181 | 21 | 20 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/2789 | 2026-05-11 |  251 | 16 | 15 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/2839 | 2026-05-19 |  166 | 22 | 21 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/2886 | 2026-05-28 |  205 | 40 | 38 |  2
t.me/sihofficial/2924 | 2026-06-04 |  202 | 23 | 22 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/2978 | 2026-06-16 |  201 |  9 |  8 |  1   ← taper begins
t.me/sihofficial/3113 | 2026-07-17 |  239 | 12 | 10 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/3152 | 2026-07-27 |  230 | 25 | 24 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/3196 | 2026-08-06 |  233 | 18 | 17 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/3255 | 2026-08-24 |  125 |  3 |  2 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/3291 | 2026-09-01 |  168 |  9 |  8 |  1
t.me/sihofficial/3330 | 2026-09-11 |  116 | 10 | 10 |  0
t.me/sihofficial/3400 | 2026-10-02 |  125 |  7 |  7 |  0
```

**Reading the table.** Pre-flip: 15 weeks of contests (9,100+ total participants) → 58 reviews total, mixed ratings. Post-flip: 69 contest weeks → **~3,000 reviews, 85–95% five-star, near-zero negatives** — the review stream became a function of the contest calendar. Note the mid-2025 pattern: *participants fall* (516 → 200) while *reviews per contest stay flat or rise* (45–65) — the funnel stopped being "many casual entrants" and became "fewer entrants, each now performing the review task".

---

## 3. GOOGLE-FORM CONTESTS (explicit review-for-prize, verbatim forms)

| Contest | Post | Announced | Window reviews | 5★ | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRIME DROP | `t.me/sihofficial/2625` | 2026-03-31 | **51 in 8 days** (50× 5★); day-of spike **12 reviews on Mar 31** vs 3–5 baseline | 50 | all v2.9.19; form: "leave any comment… **rate SIH** and attach the link to your comment" (forms.gle/26RhQxXQdbKLYX7AA) |
| SKIN RAID | `t.me/sihofficial/3378` | 2025-09-25 | 49 in 8 days (45× 5★), versions clustered on v2.7.x | 45 | form targets "SIH.Mobile app" (forms.gle/Bj4cJoNRoTiwWv3E6); same week as mega-contest 2042 (950 participants) |
| PURE DROP | `t.me/sihofficial/3418` | 2026-10-08 | 1 by Oct 10 (results 2026-10-15; 74 "Join" at fetch) | 1 | form: "leave any comment about your experience with SIH extension… rate SIH and attach the link" (forms.gle/QvsjSu7osN8zwCKn9) |

**Corrected economics** (fixes the narrower window in the main report — the Mar-31 day-of burst remains the cleanest attribution unit):

- PRIME DROP: $26.74 pool → day-of burst 12 reviews = **$2.23/review**; full 8-day window 51 reviews = **$0.52/review** (window mixes in the standing weekly-program flow — see §2).
- SKIN RAID: $37.42 pool → 45–49 reviews ≈ **$0.76–0.83/review**.
- The whole post-flip program: ~3,000 reviews over 69 contest weeks against weekly prize pools of ~$15–40 → **≈ $0.5–0.8 per motivated review** sustained over 15 months.

---

## 4. HOW TO READ THE DYNAMICS (for the complaint)

1. **Phase 1 (2024-10…2025-02):** weekly contests existed, did NOT touch the store — proof the mechanism was separable and deliberate when it later changed.
2. **2025-03-07:** the switch — same contests, same channel, but from that week every contest week produces a 5★ burst. No store-facing feature, update, or user-base event explains a ×13 jump in written reviews (2.6 → 34.5/week) synchronized with the contest calendar.
3. **Mega-contests coincide with review peaks:** 2025-10-26 (470 participants → 101 reviews), 2025-11-03 (1,293 → 122), 2025-09-26 (950 → 56 + the SKIN RAID window).
4. **The taper (2026-06+):** contest participation decays (200 → 125) and reviews decay in lockstep (34.5 → 8.4/week) — the review flow is downstream of contest activity, not of organic user sentiment.
````

**Complaints and replies — complete supplied collection**

Original author text, unchanged.  [Download this original ↓](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/case_assets/assets/evidence/reviews-2026-10-11/NEGATIVES-AND-REPLIES.md)

```text
# Negative Reviews & Developer Replies — Full Evidence Collection
## Steam Inventory Helper (`cmeakgjggjdlcpncigglobpjbkabhmjl`) — companion to `REVIEW-MANIPULATION-EVIDENCE.md`

**Dataset.** 4,089 total reviews (full store history); 765 rated 1–2★; 286 carry a reply from **"SIH Tech Support — Developer"**; 222 distinct reply texts (heavily templated). Collected via Apify actor + Playwright lowest-rating pass, 2026-10-11. Theme classification is keyword-based on review text; yearly counts show when each complaint type peaked.

---

# 1. WHAT USERS WRITE (765 NEGATIVES, BY THEME)

| Theme | Count | Peak years | Substance |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Ads / gambling injection** | 313 | 2017 (114), 2025 (75), 2024 (35) | banners on Steam pages, casino ads, Kinguin referral, "ads for a couple of bucks" removal subscription |
| **Spyware / permissions / data** | 142 | 2017 (116), 2024 (8) | tracking clicks, `<all_urls>`, cookies, "read and change all your data" |
| **Review manipulation** | 46 | 2017 (17), 2015 (11), 2025 (6) | "manipulating reviews with bot accounts", "scammed reviews" |
| **Bugs / broken features** | 45 | spread | broken floats, sell buttons, rate-limits |
| **Money/items lost** | 29 | 2017 (18) | "sold my whole inv for 3 cents", wallet drained, scam accusations |
| **API key hijack** | 1 (explicit) | 2024 | "new [API key] was created" after use |

## 1.1 The three complaint waves (mirrors of monetization pushes)

**Wave 1 — Sept 2017 (369× 1★ that year; 121 reviews on 2017-09-19 alone).** Users linked press coverage:
> *"Steam Inventory Helper monitors your browsing activity!!! https://www.ghacks.net/2017/09/…"* — Daniel š, Oct 1, 2017
> *"SIH used to be a great addition to the Steam experience… [until the] script"* — zar athustra, Oct 11, 2017

**Wave 2 — June 2024 (50× 1★ that month).** The MV3 permission grab:
> *"spyware (requesting dangerous permissions)"* — Crap Head, Jun 26, 2024 (12 of 13 found helpful)
> *"- Read and change all your data on all websites - Manage your apps, extensions, and themes NO THANKS"* — Frowki, Jun 24, 2024 (19 of 23)
> *"Read and change all your data on all websites … WHY!"* — ls zhai, Jun 25, 2024 (10 of 11)

**Wave 3 — March–May 2025 (75 ad complaints; 28 negatives in March alone).** Ad injection goes live:
> *"Recently added gambling website ads everywhere."* — Mar 8, 2025
> *"Shady practice of adding gambling ads into all steam pages."* — Mar 8, 2025
> *"displays ads ;("*, *"embeds ads on steam"* — Mar 10, 2025
> *"Puts ads on my steam page and demands money to remove it."* — May 11, 2025
> *"like looking at a casino or something"* — Jun 13, 2026

The 2025-03 1★ wave is then drowned by the incentivized 5★ program (181× 5★ the same month — see main report §3).

---

# 2. WHAT THE DEVELOPER REPLIES (286 REPLIES, 222 TEMPLATES)

## 2.1 The copy-paste catalog (usage counts)

**T1 — ×31 (2025-04/05, the "partnered ads" admission):**
> *"Hello! Unfortunately, we had to add partnered ads to be able to support and further develop our free project. … **Partnered ads mean that we are given advertisements to display, and we simply show them.** Additionally, if a user decides to purchase our subscription, all ads will be immediately removed."*

**T2 — ×17 (June 2024, the MV3 deflection):**
> *"Hello! Starting from June 1, 2024, Google requires all extensions to migrate to the Manifest V3 standards… You can find detailed information about the permissions here: https://x.com/SteamInvHelper/status/…"*

**T3 — ×4 (2026-02):** *"At the moment, we only have one partner banner… you can simply purchase a subscription for just a couple of bucks."*

**T4 — ×3 (2026-01, the veiled legal threat):**
> *"…please note that we do not violate any applicable laws, operate in full compliance with Google's policies… **we would like to remind you that you bear responsibility for posting comments of this kind that may be considered unlawful.**"*

**T5 — ×3 (2025-10):** *"…we have added several slots for affiliate banners."*

**T6 — ×2 (2026-05, "Google reviews everything"):**
> *"It is very unfortunate to see misleading comments of this kind. The list of available requests and the extension's functionality is clearly described on the main page of the Google Marketplace, and additionally, **every version of our extension goes through Google's review process.**"*

**T7 — ×2 (2025-09, "one banner, Valve's tournament"):** *"We have only one affiliate banner advertising Valve's eSports tournament…"*

**T8 — ×2 (2024-08, Kinguin grey-market referral):** *"This is an optional promotional offer that can help save users money."*

## 2.2 One-off replies that matter

| Date | Reply | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| 2017-10-02 | *"This information is fake. We are not using any kind of script that is mentioned there."* (to the ghacks.net article) | Flat denial of the browsing-activity monitoring story |
| 2018-01-06 | *"**This was an old article with the outdated information. This analytics script was removed long ago and we are never bringing it back.**"* | **Admission that the "fake" script existed** — the 2017 spyware claim was true |
| 2017-09-19 | *"Extension is not able to steal anything."* / 2018-07-02: *"SIH never was harmful to user."* | absolute denials, contrast with §3 below |
| 2023-12-25 | *"…this service is more of a gambling project, so at the moment **we have no specific tasks to add and interact with gambling projects**."* (declining to add CSGOEmpire) | Two years later: CSGOFAST referral in the trade window + own case-opening site (`cases.steaminventoryhelper.com`) + gainskins gambling banners |
| 2025-03-24 | *"our extension does not collect authorization access, API keys, or any similar information"* | **False** — password login, Steam Guard registration, maFile cloud sync are all in the code |
| 2026-08-31 | *"The extension do not have access to API key so it can't be changed. It appears that you may have fallen victim to a phishing website or malware."* | Blames the victim; user reported a **newly created API key** after the extension logged them out |
| 2025-03-18 | *"someone has launched an entire anti-advertising campaign against SIH… tens of thousands of grateful users"* | Labels organic backlash a "campaign" while running the incentivized 5★ program (main report §2) |
| 2024-11-05 | *"We're very sorry that you continue to copy and post the same review from different accounts"* | Accuses critics of the exact astroturfing SIH itself runs |
| 2025-03-13 | *"If it's great we hope you will change your rate for 5 stars :)"* (and ×3 more 4★-review replies asking to raise the rating) | Rating solicitation in the store itself |
| 2020-10-21 | *"You can check our code and find nothing… only limited to these websites: steampowered, market.csgo.com, sih.gainskins.com, steamcharts, steamcommunity, steamrep"* | **Then-true** narrow permission list — became `<all_urls>` in 2024, making every later "check the permissions page" reply misleading |

---

# 3. REPLY vs. CODE vs. OWN ADMISSIONS — CONTRADICTION MATRIX

| Claim in replies | Contradicted by | Where |
|---|---|---|
| "Google's review process" covers the ads | their own T1: **"we are given advertisements to display, and we simply show them"** — ads are delivered to the client at runtime from `ads.steaminventoryhelper.com/adapi/<token>/find-all` with per-user targeting `{f:{…}}`; Google reviews submitted code, not the ad server's output | main report §4.1; 922.js:84640 |
| "we only have one partner banner" (T3/T5/T7, various) | their own T5 "several slots" + code: 5 adSpaceTokens (`marketSponsor`, `tradeoffer`, `marketLeftSideBanner`, `externalIntegrationBanner`, `marketSponsorBanner`), 4 ad networks + hardcoded RU-only `http://23.105.226.164` banner | main report §2.2; INTEGRATIONS.md |
| "no gambling affiliation" | T8 Kinguin referral; CSGOFAST `subid2=csgofast` in the trade window; gainskins gambling banner feed; `cases.steaminventoryhelper.com` case-opening with sell/withdraw commands | code audit §2.2 |
| "does not collect authorization access" | `IAuthenticationService/BeginAuthSessionViaCredentials` (password login), `ITwoFactorService/AddAuthenticator`, maFiles `shared_secret`/`identity_secret` uploaded to `core.sih.app/sih/backups/sync` | 922.js:99652 |
| "not able to steal anything" (2017) | own 2018 admission that an analytics/tracking script existed and was removed; current build: C2 `tradesend`/`tradeaccept`, `sell_item` tasks, auto-confirm | §2.2; C2 report §4 |
| "permissions only for SIH functions… check the store page" | 2020 reply itself listed 6 Steam domains — current manifest is `<all_urls>` + `cookies` + `webRequest` + `management` | manifest.json |

**Net pattern.** The reply operation uses (a) a true but irrelevant fact (Google code review) as a shield for runtime behavior Google cannot see, (b) minimization ("one small banner") disproven by their own other replies ("several slots") and the code, (c) historical absolute denials followed by later quiet admissions, (d) victim-blaming and legal-flavored threats toward critics, and (e) rating-solicitation even inside review threads.

---

# 4. FILES

- `%TEMP%\opencode\scraper\lowest_fixed.json` — 1,010 reviews parsed (lowest-rating pass)
- `%TEMP%\opencode\scraper\dev_replies.json` — 286 review+reply pairs
- `%TEMP%\opencode\scraper\unique_replies.json` — 222 deduplicated reply templates with usage counts and trigger reviews
- `%TEMP%\opencode\cws_all.json` — full 4,089-review dataset (Apify)

*Compiled 2026-10-11. Quotes are verbatim (typos included); "helpful" counts as shown on the store at scrape time.*
```

[← CSGOFast / SIH / Valve](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/csgofast-sih.html)  [Three games & security →](https://phishdestroy.io/steam_dossier/three-games-and-security.html)