Contact request: Is this a scammer?
Hi,
I received a contact request yesterday with the (in my language) default invitation message from a Skype account I don't know. Said person has a picture of a heart with 2 puppet-like figures looking at it.
Even though I've never had random contact-invite issues before, I'm smart enough to guess this might be a scammer and I should not accept this person.
However, The only information shown on the profile of said person says that this person is from the same city as me.. Which is what kinda confuses me.
So my questions are,
do scammers fake being from the same city on their profile?
Could it do any harm for me to accept said person and ask who they are? (I have no added phone number on my Skype profile, so that's secure). Or is there a different way of finding out who they are/where they are from?
Solved!
Go to Solution.
viridee wrote:
Hi,
I received a contact request yesterday with the (in my language) default invitation message from a Skype account I don't know. Said person has a picture of a heart with 2 puppet-like figures looking at it.
Even though I've never had random contact-invite issues before, I'm smart enough to guess this might be a scammer and I should not accept this person.
However, The only information shown on the profile of said person says that this person is from the same city as me.. Which is what kinda confuses me.
So my questions are,
do scammers fake being from the same city on their profile?
Could it do any harm for me to accept said person and ask who they are? (I have no added phone number on my Skype profile, so that's secure). Or is there a different way of finding out who they are/where they are from?
possible, scammers might employ such tactics to entice their targets to accept their contact request. Generally, it is not advisable to suspicious contact requests. I think if that user is indeed someone who knows you, they may have attached a short message in their contact request to introduce themselve.
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Similar Messages
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Hello, I keep getting contact requests fro us soldiers in Afganistan and don´t know how to stop them!Add me to you contact etc... I tried privacy in my setting, but somehow did´t succeed.
Solved!
Go to Solution.Hi,
Skype application has built-in privacy settings that you can use to restrict who is allowed to contact you, but you can still receive new contact requests. This allows friends that you do not have in your contact list to ask to share contact details with you.
Unfortunately, there is a small minority of people who abuse the Skype software. We have resources dedicated to a number of ongoing anti-spam initiatives so that we can effectively deal with people who send unsolicited messages.
Please continue to block and report abusive users to us. This helps us to identify and prevent spammers.
To block contact in Skype (Windows), please visit: https://support.skype.com/faq/FA10488
To block contact in Skype (Mac), please visit:
https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA10870/how-do-i-manage-my-contacts-in-skype-for-mac-os-x?frompage=...
We are working hard to prevent spammers from contacting you, and we do take action against them where appropriate.
Hope this helps.
Julian -
Suggestion: Contact Requests - Privacy Options
Suggestion:
Addition to Advanced Privacy: options to control who can send the user a Contact Request.
Example:
Allow Contact Requests from...
anyone
people in my Contact's Contact list
no one
from a list of email addresses (Add email address)
from a list of Skype names (Add Skype name)
Details of Example:
Anyone: anyone may send the user a Contact Request.
People in my Contact's Contact list: comparable to "Friends of Friends" in other websites.
No one: User will not recieve Contact Requests.
From a List: this option allows a user to allow specific users to send them a Contact Request. Anyone who is not on the list cannot send a contact request to the user. To add names to this list, the user would input a Skype name or email address in a textbox. The default list is blank.
(parenthesis) = clickable buttons. When clicked, a window will open in Skype and prompt the user to enter an email address and/or skype name.
= circles the user would click to choose the option.
To reduce the amount of options, email and name could be combined into one section.
Some users might want to choose "people in my Contact's Contact list" and the list of users, I suggest the ability to select multiple options, unless the selected option would conflict with another.
The list of email addresses and/or names that the user has added could be accessable through menu options, and/or somewhere within the Privacy Settings.
If something like this was implemented, I believe the numerous complaints about strangers sending unwanted Contact Requests would be greatly reduced, if not eliminated.
I am aware of the current solution with unwanted Contact Requests: to Block and Report, and make our profile as "uninteresting" and plain as possible. I have done as suggested, and I still get unwanted Contact Requests. I do not want to be blocking a dozen requests per day, but that's what the current solution leaves us with. To me, and many other users, "Block and Report" is not a satisfactory solution, but it is our only option at this point if we want to continue using Skype.
I'd also wish to point out that for some users, the inability to prevent Contact Requests is unsafe. Some users are mentally impared, or very young, and don't know a stranger from a friend. I'd hate to think that some of these innocent users could be financially, physically, and/or emotionally hurt by one of these deceptive contacts. Online safety is important.
P.S. Thank you Skype for allowing us to communicate to you in these forums.Hi,
Skype application has built-in privacy settings that you can use to restrict who is allowed to contact you, but you can still receive new contact requests. This allows friends that you do not have in your contact list to ask to share contact details with you.
Unfortunately, there is a small minority of people who abuse the Skype software. We have resources dedicated to a number of ongoing anti-spam initiatives so that we can effectively deal with people who send unsolicited messages.
Please continue to block and report abusive users to us. This helps us to identify and prevent spammers.
To block contact in Skype (Windows), please visit: https://support.skype.com/faq/FA10488
To block contact in Skype (Mac), please visit:
https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA10870/how-do-i-manage-my-contacts-in-skype-for-mac-os-x?frompage=...
We are working hard to prevent spammers from contacting you, and we do take action against them where appropriate.
Hope this helps.
Julian -
i have 2 contacts which are both showing "poending contact request" is this code for you are blocked?
that notification usually appear if the person haven't accepted a contact request yet.
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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| skypefordummies.blogspot.com | -
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? -
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
Attachments:
Rawr.JPG 68 KB -
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.
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| skypefordummies.blogspot.com | 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! -
I can no longer access Bejeweled Blitz through facebook. I get the message, "your browser sent a request that this server could not understand. Size of a request header field exceeds server limit". I can access Bejeweled through FB using my husband's log in so to me that suggests the problem is with my log in. Help please.
Contact FB or use another browser.
-
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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We need help with unwanted contact requests
In the last 2 weeks, I have received 13 unwanted contact requests that I have blocked, which is roughly 2 unwanted contact requests for every Skype message or call I'm interested in receiving.
All of my privacy settings are set to "Contacts" and I do not publish my Skype ID on LinkedIn, the only social media site I use.
What else can I do?Hello Gilad,
Thank you for your contact!
The script does not work, no error message comes up, I am sure it`s a
stupid mistake but neither my boss nor I are programmers.
Please have a look at the form enclosed, the field in question (field
name "calculated currency value", red border) is on the top right and
refers to the field "FX" (field name "FXname 4800") below (blue border)
Both fields are in number format so I don`t know why this doesn't work,
what else can it be?
With kind regards
Ursula -
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 -
I have had a Skype account for several years, I have never had so may spam contact requests as in recent months. I have the highest privacy settings and always report and block spam. It still comes through - often with the same photos and message requests. What is being done to stop this? What is the point of blocking, if nothing is done to trace and prevent it from happening again?
Hello,
Did anybody get a fix for this im getting 2-3 requests every day, surely if you set allow msgs from contacts only this should stop them.. I understand that if skype blocks contact requests nobody can get in touch, but I would be much happier if this option was available in the privacy settings. This seems to be a problem that is just ignored by Skype but seems to be irritating the users. If anybody has a fix, I would like to know it... -
Dear ,
I buied I phone from USA and I sent to Iraq to use it there but when used it I get this message :
The SIM card that you currently have installed in this iPhone is from a carrier that is not supported under the activation policy that is currently assigned by the activation server. This is not a hardware issue with the iPhone. Please insert another SIM card from a supported carrier or request that this iPhone be unlocked by your carrier
so I need support to resolve this problem and procedure and how I can iPhone be unlocked.
BR,
Ammar Jumaaammarjr wrote:
... how I can iPhone be unlocked.
Sorry... but... ONLY the US Carrier it is Locked to can unlock it.
You need to Contact them.
Note: No one here will know who that Carrier is. -
Friends Suddenly Became Pending Contact Request
A friend of mine who had appeared "online" earlier tonight suddenly became "pending contact request". What does this mean? Am I deleted or blocked by him? How can I solve this problem?
Thanks!I have just had the same issue whereby many contacts became "request pending" most of whom would not disconnect me! I think skype has been comprised? I suggest that the forum managers escalate this issue....!
MyGloria wrote:
A friend of mine who had appeared "online" earlier tonight suddenly became "pending contact request". What does this mean? Am I deleted or blocked by him? How can I solve this problem?
Thanks!
MyGloria wrote:
A friend of mine who had appeared "online" earlier tonight suddenly became "pending contact request". What does this mean? Am I deleted or blocked by him? How can I solve this problem?
Thanks! -
Unwanted Contact Requests (Ongoing history within ...
Upon reading Primemover's [Power User] 25-07-2012 20:39 - edited 25-07-2012 20:52 response to "How to Handle Unwanted Contact Requests"
(reference : http://community.skype.com/t5/Security-Privacy-Trust-and/How-to-Handle-Unwanted-Contact-Requests/m-p...
I followed his/her instructions.
My Skype version (7.0.80.102) screen appeared differently than that which was displayed within Primemover's link. My screen was missing some key options such as "BLOCK" this person.
My wife suggested I right-click on either the unknown requestor's picture or name to see what options appear.
Sure enough upon right clicking both the requestor's name and picture came a drop down list of options. Looking quite a way down the list of options, I saw the "BLOCK" option.
I clicked "BLOCK this contact" for my South african 'fan'. This (apparently) immediately blocked the contact. Followed immediately with a Skype pop-up appearing complete with a 'tick' box asking if I wanted to "Report Abuse" (which I did).
Immediately the contact disappeared from my list.
I presume the report went through to Skype and will possibly result in Skype doing their privacy protection duties as Primemover suggested.
I certainly hope this is effective in reality. Hopefully my approach works for other Skype users who are also afflicted by ongoing introductions and requests from unknown/unwanted individuals or entities.
I, too, find this process both odd and expect it to be unnecessary. In my opinion this is either an oversight on Skype's programming or a knowingly enabled function within Skype for unknown purposes contrary to what Skype users either expect or choose.
My wife and I both have set our Skype Security and Privacy settings to only accept incoming requests from people we know in our contacts. Yet we both continue to be harassed by unknown entities or people whose intent is contrary to what we have configured our Skype settings to permit.
Having read many of the complaints within the extended history of associated concerns suggest this is more than an anomally within Skype. Clearly Skype is aware of this concern for years; Skype chooses to enable/permit it to continue rather than acutually support the privacy and security choices of it's users. Follow the money trail is likely the rational to enabling this affliction rather than ensuring Skype's users' settings actually function reasonably as intended/expected.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?
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