Another contact-request scam (???)

This is the contact-request message I received followed by the “chat” I had with what I am assuming was a bot:
sandra.hamiltonvlq
“Hi, I was checking ppl near me and i came across your page and you seemed worth talking to ”
(ME): Uhm...how did you check for people "near" you when Skype does not give you the option to search for users based on location???
[12:50:28 AM]
sandra.hamiltonvlq: k, well, I have to go . ... Hmm.. would you like to check out my profile and pics..?
[12:50:42 AM]
sandra.hamiltonvlq: check it out: http://www.date-arcade.com/?id=6589&profile=talinm
[12:50:57 AM]
sandra.hamiltonvlq: search for me as talinm.
The profile originally had a picture of a girl, but the picture disappeared when I sent the instant message. I blocked and reported the account when the bot responded. Has anyone else received a message from that account or instructions to go to that site? Is this a well-known scam like the others (such as Friendjungle) to get credit-card information?

most likely it is a scam, or at least an annoying strategy to promote that particular site. you indeed made the correct action of blocking the user and reporting them to skype. you can also set your privacy settings to allow messages (and calls) from people in your contact list only, to avoid receiving such unwanted communications in the future.
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Scam Contact requests

I have seen a post that says to stop scam contact requests - I get them every time i log in - it says to go to "tools" > "Options" > "privacy" etc....... but I have no "Tools" heading on the toolbar. I am fed up with these scam contact requests...... HELP!!!!!!

On a Mac, you'll find what you're looking for in Preferences. (Skype/Preferences/Privacy.)
Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem.

Attempted scams - IM text-contact requests

HI, since 2 days I am getting message on my Skype from men mostly military that are not in my contact list and the fact that my privacy setting is set to off they still can sent me IM text with introduction
I don't care as much about 1 guy , but it started again this morning, what will happen if I get 1000 scam messages per day ? since they use Robots to do that .
What make a sense for Skype Privacy setting if strangers can post IM message without authorization . And no matter what the content is , today romance tomorrow sales .
Beside I just read a tread from 1 year ago in this forum about the same issue , it seems like nothing was done into the direction of secure users from scams and strangers and phones in the middle of the night from India selling US college adverts.
I did what I could from my side as that is all I can do with the privacy setting

unfortunately, there is no option yet to block/filter contact requests, regardless if they are requests from legitimate users or from possible spammers/scammers. The only things you can do at the moment is indeed to ignore and block them (and report them to abuse@skype,net).
The Privacy Settings in Skype can only prevent/stop unwanted calls/instant messages from non-contacts, not contact requests (where they can attach a short message).
IF YOU FOUND OUR POST USEFUL THEN PLEASE GIVE "KUDOS". IF IT HELPED TO FIX YOUR ISSUE PLEASE MARK IT AS A "SOLUTION" TO HELP OTHERS. THANKS!
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UNWANTED SCAM CONTACT REQUESTS

PEOPLE SKYPE's acknowledgement of an ongoing problem and lack of action is total **bleep**.
At present any user can be sent a CONTACT REQUEST from any scammer, regardless of a user's privacy settings. This is WRONG, SHOULD NOT HAPPEN and is contrary to what we users expect of you SKYPE when they are CHARGING us for using SKYPE.
I don't want to be contacted by General **bleep**ing or his sister, do you understand me Skype admin ? Neither do any of the other users who've written and posted to this site : WITHOUT any action being taken by Skype to FIX THE PROLEM.
I am sick and tired and fed up of getting these contact requests, every single friggin day and having to delete them and block them. You do it, why should I ? STOP these scammers for once and for all.
Come on how much money does Microsoft have behind it, to do so ? now get rid of the scammers.
FIX THE PROBLEM.

I never ever post on these forums! But this is getting simply ridiculous!
It used to just be General Napoleon-complex or whoever, and that was once or twice a month; I could live with that. Then it got to be random people at least once or twice a week. Then it built to at least one or two a day.
Today it was 5, and one of them was pure porn. ACK!!!! Totally not acceptable!!!
And I am required - note: REQUIRED!!! - to use Skype for work. Just how is one expected to use Skype for work when one is bombarded with useless, senseless requests, some of which are porn?
And what about our children, who also use Skype? I do believe that subjecting minors to porn is against the law. If you knowingly don't fix the problem and a minor is subjected to porn, that is a FELONY.
At this point, if you can't fix the problem, the result is going to be that we all start to use something else. Some of those inexpensive little webcams come with nice PRIVATE chat systems on a CD that you can install anywhere. Perhaps we should migrate to those, guaranteeing we only have people in our networks that we know - because they won't have the CD, and won't have our usernames, and someone won't allow them to find us.
Wake up, smell the coffee, and fix it, before you lose everyone. Or is that the idea?
Or does anyone from Skype or MS even read these?

Receiving contact requests.

Alright so my friend once lived in Australia with me she then moved to America. I only use Skype to chat with her but for about 4 weeks now I have been getting contact requests NON STOP from creepy old men claiming to be "U.S Army Veterans" I am really creeped out. I have blocked all of them. I have changed my privacy settings but it still hasn't stopped them. I have no clue who they are and I am really creeped out. How can I stop this?!

This is an old problem http://community.skype.com/t5/Security-Privacy-Trust-and/Strangers-keep-contacting-me/td-p/620247/pa...
I have the same issue. I have always had all my privacy/IM/Video settings set to contact only. I do not have an MSN account so the crossover issue mentioned in the thread I linked, whatever that was, isn't it.
I asked the last one how he got my contact details. After lying that I'd given them to him, he absolutely refused to answer.
First he said I must have given him the info in another group (I don't know him from Adam, very creepy shot-in-the-dark from him, since I DON'T use skype except to call my family's landlines in the UK via subscription - if that was true, why not open with a "Hi it's xxx from site yyy"?)
I said that was impossible, he said, "Hmmmn. Don't know."
I said, "How did you know what contact name to add? Go on, I promise I won't be cross "
He said "I don't know what to tell you."
At that point I thanked him for his time and blocked him.
I don't get a lot, and it's strange how they do _seem_ to be army. I don't for a second think they are. There are scamers out there using US army guys faces to borrow credibility to get you to talk to them.
In which case, they are probably finding contact names by doing to places like dating sites and running through the username lists they find there. If your skype contact id is not unique to skype, you can be contact by guesswork, basically. Skype can't fix that.
Skype CAN fix that the last one IM-ed me and he's not in my contact list, contrary to my provacy settings. That suggests there's an exploit in skype's security that is being hacked, possibly by an organised effort since the type of contact is so consistent.
My advice to average user bearing the brunt of this - since we are the actualy target and what they want is money - is to save the conversation, then block and report, and post the convo here if you can so the community can get a handle on how widespread this is.
Never, ever give out personal identification info or money out online, not even if the person convinces you absolutely that you two are in love. They contact you, get real info and a background check but don't just take thier word for anything.
Ref: http://usmilitary.about.com/u/ua/justicelawlegislation/Are-You-A-Victim-Of-A-Romance-Scam.htm Scroll down to the name nj flinn - that post talk about use of army guys names in scams on skype.
Good luck and stay safe,
Mulberry

How to Handle Unwanted Contact Requests

Unfortunately, there is currently no method to sort or filter incoming contact requests.   I think it would be very difficult for Skype to determine if a certain person is a potential scammer or spammer, unless they receive relevant reports from users who receive suspicious contact requests from them. Below are some suggested steps on how to deal with unwanted, random, unknown, or suspicious contact requests.
1. Take note of the username and display name of the user (please see image sample below)
2.       Open the Contact request then click the Block Button.
3.       The Block This Person window will also appear, you can click the Report Abuse box if you feel that that contact is indeed a highly potential scammer or spammer.  Click the Block button to confirm your action.
4.       You can also report them to [email protected]
Then Skype will be notified of the suspicious activities of the reported user/s and will most likely prompt them to check and investigate those users. Their account might be put under suspension, termination, or prevent them from creating new accounts or using Skype services.
Note: Setting your account's privacy settings to allow messages and calls from people in your contact list only will only prevent the ability of non-contacts to call you or send you instant messages. It will not stop unwanted contact requests from random users.
IF YOU FOUND OUR POST USEFUL THEN PLEASE GIVE "KUDOS". IF IT HELPED TO FIX YOUR ISSUE PLEASE MARK IT AS A "SOLUTION" TO HELP OTHERS. THANKS!
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I think the problem results from the level of visibility Skype users present. For these random requests to come in, there must be some way of trawling for Skype IDs, which would allow would-be scammers and spammers to make the requests. My wife gets many of them and I get virtually none, so they obviously target women.
If Skype users could manage their level of visibility to prevent random trawling or browsing, but allow targeted searches, that should reduce the incidence of this problem enormously.
Another way would be to create an option for a "Contact Token" which could be forwarded to people you allow to make contact requests. They would need to supply the correct token (matching your individual "Contact Token") in order for the request to be submitted. ie. in Privacy Settings, add the followng option:
"Only accept and display contact requests from users supplying the following Contact Token: _____"
This may seem overly heavy-handed, but it would suit many people who don't want to be bothered by nuisance contact requests, and if they like spam and scam, they don't have to enable the option!

Unwanted Contact Request?

i did not see a support forum on the support tab and my search question "why did i get a request from someone i do not know" turned up nothing. can this be posted here?
i have never had a problem with skype in the past since i have gotten it. i believe it was 2011.
Alright, so i login to skype to see which of my contacts is online and to hopefully chat with them. Then i notice i have 1 new contact request. I go to look at it and it says "princess_cassisexox111 (Joy Rodgers)". I then ask some of contacts if they knew this contact and they reply "no"
I then try talking to this contact to see if they know me from somewhere. Here is the conversation. Twinkle is my display name since it was already taken on here.
Twinkle has shared contact details with Joy Rodgers.
[8:32:54 PM] Twinkle: who is this?
[8:33:00 PM] Joy Rodgers: heyy there hun, ya busy? saw u online so i figured i'd send a message and see
[8:33:16 PM] Joy Rodgers: 27/f here, you?
-i did not even ask for their age or gender-
[8:33:17 PM] Twinkle: [8:32:54 PM] Twinkle: who is this?
-i try a second time to figure out who they are. perhaps a familar username from another site-
[8:33:32 PM] Joy Rodgers: oh ok so whatcha up 2?
[8:33:53 PM] Twinkle: Who Is This?
-i try caps the first letter of each word to try to get this contact to notice the message-
[8:34:11 PM] Joy Rodgers: ahh well i was just checkin my inbox on Just Hook Up, i got out of a relationship a few months back and im sick of going out and meeting guys at clubs.
[8:34:26 PM] Joy Rodgers: my friend told me about it and i was like umm idk about all that lol, but in all honesty i really like it and i've met some really cool people from there too. do u have a profile anywhere or any pics?
[8:34:47 PM] Twinkle: how did you get this skype name
-at this point, i ask how you they found out my skype name-
[8:35:02 PM] Joy Rodgers: i actually just finished uploading some new pics from last weekend if u wanna see?
[8:35:27 PM] Twinkle: [8:34:47 PM] Twinkle: how did you get this skype name? do i need to caps the message
[8:35:49 PM] Joy Rodgers: alright here's my profile bit.ly/15Wc4l0 that has my photos there. u might have to sign in to see them like on facebook i'm not sure but u should sign up anyway
-the link in this message, i suspect to be a spam/harmful link of some sort-
[8:36:02 PM] Joy Rodgers: it only takes a couple seconds and it's totally free, no credit card or anything stupid like that. plus i can send you a friend request and we can get to know each other better
-here, im being told to register for a possible dating site, which im not going to do-
[8:36:13 PM] Twinkle: we are through here
[8:36:33 PM] Joy Rodgers: Once u do send me ure username so i can send u a friend request 2..
-at this point, i decided to end the conversation since this contact would not answer my questions and blocked-
[8:37:18 PM] *** Twinkle blocked Joy Rodgers ***
how did this contact get a hold of me? could this of been a bot?

I'm almost sure that those are scammers/spammers/or phishers. Unfortunately, those unwanted users are very resourceful individual. They may have numerous ways to search for valid Skype usernames.
ignore and block them, and/or report them to [email protected] for misusing/abusing Skype services.
IF YOU FOUND OUR POST USEFUL THEN PLEASE GIVE "KUDOS". IF IT HELPED TO FIX YOUR ISSUE PLEASE MARK IT AS A "SOLUTION" TO HELP OTHERS. THANKS!
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Send Contact Request

I cannot use the "Send Contact Request" feature and can't find anything on this problem anywhere. Does anyone know how I can resolve this frustrating issue?
Let me know.

I am having this problem as well. The "help" says:
Report an issue with a Game Center customer
If you encounter an issue with another customer, including invite spam, inappropriate avatars, or other offensive behavior:
iOS: View their profile, tap '•••', and select Report a Problem.
OS X: Tap or click their Game Center nickname to view their profile and select Report a Problem.
...but as you know, it's not possible to view a stranger's game profile (unless I want to sift through the leaderboards containing thousands of users, perhaps?) Also, I don't see any instructions from Apple about how to access the Game Center through OS X on my desktop computer (is that even possible?) I thought I'd check there, since the interface might be different.
Our problem is that one user is signing up for EVERY open game slot they can find on our app (we are the publisher - the app developer says their hands are tied, since they cannot ban users, or even know who any user is, so I assume this is a Game Center issue). It's ruining the experience for other players of our game on the iOS app, so we'd like to address this. For all we know, this jerk is ruining people's experience of other games as well.
I did try issuing a friend request to this person (since that's the ONLY way to send someone a message through Game Center - I asked them to call or email us). I guess if they accept my friend request, I'll be able to report them, but, given the extremely limited nature of ALL of Apple help, I'll probably be directed to choose from a short list of issues that have nothing to do with the actual nature of the abusive behavior. Thanks Apple, I just LOVE the way you second-guess what your customers need. You're spot-on every time [heavy sarcasm]. There isn't even a forum to ask about Game Center!
I see nobody has been able to help you on this issue.
Appalled at Apple's so-called "support",
-Alison

Suspicious contact request

I got a contact request from someone who claims to be a skype lottery agent named "skype.userlottery2012(JAMES HEROLD)" saying that I have emerged as one of your lucky winners for the year 2011 skype user's lottery. Is this a scam or do I need to add to contact and proceed with this? Please let me know. Thank you.

aaliyahdowd wrote:
It said that I have been chosen to win a large amount of money and said to fill in a form giving away way too many of my personal details inorder to receive the money. They wanted my sex, age, birthdate, bank account details, credit card details, complete address and some other things I have forgotten. It said to enter that code to verify it. I googled my code and saw that many other people had the same code as me! sorry I can't remember more but I deleted it as soon as I saw what I had to do.
yup. that is one of those scams as well.
IF YOU FOUND OUR POST USEFUL THEN PLEASE GIVE "KUDOS". IF IT HELPED TO FIX YOUR ISSUE PLEASE MARK IT AS A "SOLUTION" TO HELP OTHERS. THANKS!
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SEE MORE TIPS, TRICKS, TUTORIALS AND UPDATES in
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Unsolicited contact requests (spams / junk)

I though Skype would have been a better platform, but it appears to be the worst of the worst. I am constantly inundated with (mostly sexual) unsolicited contact requests. I do not have the time to keep blocking every day.
Does Microsoft have a plan and timeline on fixing this? Else I will be uninstalling Skype.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

What I want is a solution that handles the problem terminatedly! I do get multiple unwanted requests daily (4 already and its only 9AM). This situation has gotten worse over the last few weeks.
I talked with customer support and have set all the privacy settings according to recommendations and even changed my profile name - I was assured this would stop the requests. Well none of the recommendations work.
So why have this privacy setting "Allow messages from: Contacts" if it does not work? Its a little like those buttons at crosswalks.
It seems like a simple formula - contact request does not equal contact on my list = reject it! I will gladly add a person I want to my contacts. How you ask? They can call me on the phone, send me an email, talk to me in person, contact a friend, post on my Facebook - if they don't have any of these then they are a contact I don't need. Will this cause an inconvenience? Maybe but I am not unreachable.
Skype is a tool. A very handy tool for texting, calling, file transfers, conferencing. I use it every single day.
I sympathize with the person who started this thread. Their solution is unworkable for me since Skype is as integral to my business as an internet connection. So the only option Skype has left me is to close my account and open up another one.
This is a VERY BIG hassle as anyone with hundreds of contacts might imagine.
So I ask....make the privacy setting you promote really work. Exclude all contact requests, delete them, do not let them thru, obliterate them, send them all to SPAM hell if they are not on my contact list! Simple, easy, and straight forward.
Can you do this?

Contact requests not coming to me (on my windows m...

I am using Skype on my Windows 8 machine and my Android and my Mac.
When I get contact requests they dont show up on my Windows account.
The only workaround I have found is to open Skype on my Android and accept the invitation (which is not a big hassle, but Skype... come on! This is over 2 years now).

Metrorail_Lee wrote:
So was yesterday a scam/phishing attempt?
Yes. I'd suggest changing your VzW passcode ASAP. There are multiple threads on this forum about these scams; they differ in the amount of credit and the web site (although the amount of credit and website are usually the same number, in this case 37). The only web site that VzW uses is www.verizonwireless.com

GHANA CONTACT REQUESTS

I keep blocking and reporting, but they don’t seem to be discouraged. J
I’ve been receiving for a while now contact requests from Ghana.
It curiously happens that all of them (mostly female) are from other countries and doing “something” there.
Can someone to confirm that is part of an organized scam? If so, can the requests be prevented?
I keep blocking and reporting, but they don't seem to discourage (not sure about the spelling of this)

Wrong board.
Moved to "Security".
TIME ZONE - US EASTERN. LOCATION - PHILADELPHIA, PA, USA.
I recommend that you always run the latest Skype version: Windows & Mac
If my advice helped to fix your issue please mark it as a solution to help others.
Please note that I generally don't respond to unsolicited Private Messages. Thank you.

Random Blackerry Messenger Contact Requests

Hi, I keep receiving hundreds of contact requests on blackberry messenger from people that I don't know. I've honestly received 400 requests so far today.
I haven't shared my pin on twitter or facebook, etc. so I don't know how these people have gotten it!
Is there any way I can stop or block this?
Thanks.

Somehow, somebody has got ahold of your PIN. Perhaps you bought your phone second-hand? If it's the odd request here and there, I usually suggest it's just somebody sending out random requests but since you're receiving so many, it's beyond that.
The only real solution is to exchange your phone for another one thereby swapping PINs. Technically, there is no method of filtering which requests should come to your phone and which ones should be bounced. As long as you keep this PIN active, the requests will probably continue to come in.
Not advice you wanted to hear but I see no other solution.
- If my response has helped you, please click "Options" beside my post and mark it as solved. Clicking the "thumbs up" icon near the bottom of my response would also be appreciated.

2 Random contact requests

So I just logged in to skype and found 2 random contact requests from I presume strangers. I have no idea who they are. I stupidly replied to one but got a reply back. So I was wondering was this a potential scammer? I've bot blocked and declined the contact request as well as launching a full computer scan and there is no potential threats found. Was I paranoid or was this a scam.

In your privacy setting there is an option to only allow messages, calls and such from people in your contacts. Just double check to make sure it's all checked properly
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Pending Contact Request

I can't talk to my parents in another country on video Skype...because there is no way to accept their contact request! The tutorial looks nothing ike my Skype screen. So upset, it's Mothers Day and I couldn't see my mum! Please...any suggestions? Thanks...

Suddenly, after all the headache of trying to add folks and they add me, someone requested that I add them as a contact; then, what do you know the option displayed in the chat window of the requester to accept or decline; also, they were able to add me, woohoo! Then I got a couple other request which verified that request is working back to normal. That is what I'm talking about is action on Skype's behalf rather than to lose customers who do enjoy using Skype. Guess I will keep my paid subscribed phone number as a way of thanking Skype for the service and do not mind paying a SMALL fee to support the Skype platform and the technology. Hope everyone elses is working now.

Another contact-request scam (???)

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