The Steam Store temporarily went offline because of a problem with the website's cache which resulted in users gaining access to random accounts. The leaked data include phone numbers, payment information and libraries.
Several users of Steam, who reported the problem on Twitter and NeoGaf, say they could not make changes on the random accounts and failed to access their accounts to remove their personal data. But others say they managed to buy items such as games, videos, software and hardware, reports Destructoid.
However, a post from KillhInstinct, moderator of a Steam community, Valve has fixed the problem. The moderator adds that the store is back online. There are conflicting reports because while the moderator says that phone numbers and credit card information were censored, account owners insist otherwise.
Owners of Steam accounts who use PayPal for their purchases could remove Steam access remotely by logging to PayPal and going to "settings." The click "preapproved payments" and "Valve Corp" or "www.steampowered.com" and cancel PayPal's ability to charge the account.
The tech website recommends Steam customers to temporarily avoid the store even if it has gone online.
Steam is currently holding a Winter Sale that ends on Jan. 4. It is cutting prices on thousands of games by 75 to 80 percent such as "Crusader Kings II," "Euro Truck Simulator 2," "Age of Empires HD Edition" and "Sniper Elite Franchise," while there is a 25 to 50 percent discount on "Call of Duty," "Grand Theft Auto," "Football Manager 2016," "Subnautica" and "Rainbow Six Siege."