What it means
A Steam trade offer lists items that two accounts propose to exchange. A mobile or email trade confirmation is an additional approval before that offer is sent or completed. Steam also uses confirmations for Community Market listings. The confirmation should correspond to an action you initiated and show the intended recipient and items; it is not a generic security prompt to approve whenever it appears.
A real-world example
A trader agrees in chat to exchange one valuable item. The actual offer includes two of the owner's items and a different recipient. The mobile notification arrives anyway. Rejecting it prevents the described transfer; trusting the prior chat would not.
What to do
Open the pending offer inside Steam, inspect every item and the other account, then compare the confirmation. Reject anything inconsistent or unsolicited. If you see confirmations you did not initiate, secure the password, email and authorized devices and inspect account history.
The distinction that matters
Confirmation controls authorization, not the fairness of a deal. It cannot place PayPal cash, a CD key or a future promise inside the trade window. Steam says a confirmed trade is not ordinarily reversible, so the recipient and complete contents matter at the final tap.
Steam trade and Market confirmations Steam scam FAQ
