Account Hacked, Fraudulent charges, and NO WAY TO ...

Question

Skype,
Over the last two days someone has hacked into my account, sending more
than 1200 SMS messages to people in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and other
parts of Europe. This drained whatever remained in my account, and then
auto-filled 6 times for $25 USD each. I cancelled the charges with Paypal,
but I need to talk to someone at Skype ASAP. You can e-mail me at [E-Mail address removed to retain confidentiality.] with a phone number. Your online customer support is insufficient, and the last thing someone in my position needs is to weed my way through customer
support websites. These charges have not yet been processed through my bank
luckily. I need to know:
- Will you ensure these charges do not go through?
- How did my account get hacked?
- Why was I receiving text messages and phone calls to my personal cell
phone? Was it through Skype to go?
- Will you restore my previous account balance to my skype account? As far
as I can see my account has only been hacked since Sept. 22 or 23. I had
money on the account at that time. Right now I have none.
If you are a Skype customer reading this, here's what it all looked like. The night before last I started getting text messages from all over Europe. 20 to be exact. They were talking about buying and selling cars and bikes. Last night I started getting phone calls and more texts so today I checked with my bank. There were no bank charges yet, but when I looked at Paypal I had 6 $25 auto-refills from Skype. I reported the charges with Paypal and hopefully they have cancelled the charges so they won't go on to my bank account, but I can't reach anyone at Skype, nor do I see any way to easily report security breaches like this. 

Answer 1

Hi, reynoldspick,
First things, first: for your safety and protection, please never, ever include personally identifiable information such as an e-mail address or telephone number in posts on a public Community or forum such as this.  Thanks!
If you have not already done so, please change the following account passwords immediately:
Skype account;
PayPal account;
Payment method used to fund your Paypal account.
Further, as a proactive measure, run a full security scan of your computer using your preferred anti-virus/malware/spyware program ensuring you have the latest virus signature files installed.
Here is the link to use to contact Skype Customer Service directly; we here in the Community do not have access to Skype accountholder records.  https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA1170/how-can-i-contact-skype-customer-service
Skype offers help and support through ... :
Email - follow the steps below to submit your support request to us by email
Live chat for eligible customers
We don’t currently offer telephone support.
If you are a Skype customer, you can contact Skype Customer Service as follows:
Sign in with your Skype Name and password.
Select the topic you need help with and the problem you are having. Some information is displayed that might help with your problem is displayed.
If the information doesn’t help, click Continue support request.
Select your contact method.
If you chose email, enter your details, describe your problem, and then click Send support request. We'll get back to you as soon as we can.
These charges have not yet been processed through my bank
luckily. I need to know:
- Will you ensure these charges do not go through?
I can not gaurantee this; as noted above, I do not have access to account records.  Whether these charges post through to the payment method which funds your PayPal account is most likely a matter of timing.
- How did my account get hacked?
Most likely your Skype account password was guessed or cracked.  None of us is immune.
- Why was I receiving text messages and phone calls to my personal cell phone? Was it through Skype to go?
Quite honestly, I would have no way of knowing.
- Will you restore my previous account balance to my skype account? As far as I can see my account has only been hacked since Sept. 22 or 23. I had money on the account at that time. Right now I have none.
Reimbursements for fraudulent use of an account are typically returned to the customer's account from which the funds were taken, as such investigations are processed by the payment method.
Please report these incidents to Skype Customer Service, as noted above.
Best regards,
Elaine
Was your question answered? Please click on the Accept as a Solution link so everyone can quickly find what works! Like a post or want to say, "Thank You" - ?? Click on the Kudos button!
Trustworthy information: Brian Krebs: 3 Basic Rules for Online Safety and Consumer Reports: Guide to Internet Security Online Safety Tip: Change your passwords often!