How to Keep Your Account Safe During a Boost: A Step-by-Step Checklist

Why does account safety matter so much during a boost?

Because the account owner carries the consequences of whatever happens on the account. A booster's mistakes, cheats or spending all land on you, and none of the major publishers will treat "someone else was playing" as an excuse.

The terms say this directly. Blizzard's EULA makes you responsible for all uses of your login and account. Valve's Subscriber Agreement makes you responsible for purchases made by anyone using your account and says Valve isn't responsible once you've handed your password to someone. Riot's support page on shared accounts warns that another person on your account can behave in ways that get it penalized.

In practice, a shared login exposes five things at once:

• Your rank and the account itself, through bans for account sharing, rank manipulation or cheating. The ban risk guide covers each publisher's rules.
• Your items and skins, which can be traded, gifted or disenchanted by anyone logged in.
• Your money, through saved cards, wallet balance or launcher store purchases.
• Your recovery options, if the booster changes the password, email or phone number.
• Your reputation, since chat abuse or AFK games are recorded against your account, not the booster's.

What should you do before ordering a boost?

Reduce what the booster can reach before they ever log in. None of these steps costs anything, and most take a minute or two in the launcher's account settings.

1. Pick duo if it's offered. If the booster never signs in, most of this checklist stops mattering.
2. Remove saved cards and PayPal links from the game account and the launcher. Spend down or note any wallet balance.
3. Set a unique password for the game account. It should not match your email password or anything else you use.
4. Turn on two-factor authentication if it isn't already on, and confirm the codes come to your phone or your email, not anyone else's.
5. Write down what's linked: email address, phone number, connected apps and third-party accounts. You'll compare against this list later.
6. Screenshot your inventory and rank, so you can prove what was there if items go missing.
7. Save the seller's policies on offline mode, region matching, play schedule and refunds for penalties. A screenshot with the date is enough.

Never hand over the password to the email account behind your game login. Whoever controls that inbox can reset everything else. A seller asking for it is a red flag, as the boosting scam red flags guide explains.

Should you turn off two-factor authentication for a boost?

No. Keep 2FA on and send the booster the code when they sign in. It adds a few minutes to the start of each session, and it means nobody can get into the account without you knowing.

Riot's multi-factor authentication sends a six-digit code to the Riot Mobile app or to the email on the account at each sign-in. Under the code box there's a "Remember this app for 30 days" option, which Riot recommends only on a trusted device such as your own PC or phone. A booster's machine is not a trusted device, so ask them not to tick it.

Steam Guard works the same way: with it on, a code from your email or the Steam Mobile app is needed whenever someone signs in from a device Steam doesn't recognize. That puts every new login in front of you.

If a seller insists you disable 2FA, or asks to move it to their phone number or authenticator app, cancel the order. A legitimate booster needs one code per session, not permanent control of your security settings.

What should you watch while the boost is running?

Check the account's match history and linked details every day or two, and keep all agreements in the order chat. You're looking for anything that doesn't match what was promised.

• Don't log in at the same time as the booster. Two sessions kick each other off and cause confusion. Agree on play windows in writing.
• Ask for offline or invisible status so friends don't message the booster thinking it's you.
• Read the match history. Games should appear at the agreed times, with the agreed roles or agents, and the results should match the progress updates you receive.
• Check the security page for new linked emails, phone numbers or connected apps.
• Keep everything in the site's order chat, not private DMs. If you need a refund or a dispute later, that written record is your evidence.

Remember that Riot's Anti-Boost looks for accounts performing far above their usual level. If you're on a Riot game and the order is large, ask the seller whether the boost can be spread over a longer period. Riot says large, unusual MMR swings in a short time are what it treats as boosting.

What should you do right after the boost ends?

Confirm you got what you paid for, then lock the booster out completely. Do this the same day, even with a seller you trust.

1. Log in and confirm the rank or wins you paid for. Screenshot it.
2. Change the game account password.
3. Sign out every other session. On Riot, use "Log out everywhere" under Login Management, which also strips trusted-device status. On Steam, deauthorize all devices from the Manage Steam Guard page.
4. Compare linked details against the list you made before the order: email, phone, connected apps, third-party accounts.
5. Check purchase history and inventory for anything bought, gifted, traded or disenchanted.
6. Re-add payment methods only after the password change, if you want them back.

Signing out other devices matters as much as the password change. A device that was remembered or trusted may skip the code prompt until it's signed out, so do both.

What are the signs a booster is misusing your account?

Any change you didn't agree to is a warning sign. Most misuse shows up in security settings, inventory or match history before it shows up anywhere else.

What should you do if your account is compromised or penalized?

Secure the account first, then deal with the seller and the money. The order matters, because a refund is useless if the account is gone.

1. Change the passwords for the game account and the linked email, starting with the email if both are at risk.
2. Sign out every device and check 2FA is still tied to your phone or inbox.
3. Contact publisher support through the official site only. Steam's scam FAQ says you can always recover an account through Steam Support, even if a scammer changed the password, email and phone number.
4. Stop the order in writing in the seller's chat and request a refund under their policy.
5. Open a payment dispute if the seller refuses and you paid by card or PayPal. Card and PayPal disputes have deadlines, so don't wait for the seller to stall past them.
6. Keep everything: order confirmation, chat logs, screenshots of the penalty notice and the payment receipt.

If the problem is a ban or rank reset rather than theft, the banned after a boost guide walks through appeals and refund claims.

How does the boosting service you choose affect account safety?

A lot. Duo options, region-matched boosters, a no-cheating policy and a written refund policy for penalties remove most of the risks this checklist guards against.

Before ordering, look for a site that states its policy on offline mode, 2FA handling and bans in writing, and that never asks for your email password. Account safety is weighted at 35% in the scoring method, and each site's safety record is summarized on the full list of boosting sites.