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?

Similar Messages

Receiving unsolicited contact requests.

I only use Skype for chats & video calls to my relatives in Australia. Normally I do not receive unsolicited contact requests. I have had them before and they seem to follow either new Skype updates or my Skype activity. I video called OZ last week and I am now receiving 6 or 7 unsolicited contact requests from young women in Africa/Asia each day now?Yes my settings only allow my contacts to contact me and yes I block all the unwanted requests; but it is annoying and upsetting because I do not know how & why it happens and I cannot stop it.Apparently neither can/will Skype?My apologies for being repetitious, I'm just blowing off steam.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE. SAME ISSUE JUST STARTED JULY 2015. IF SKYPE DOES NOT PUT IN A FILTER THEY ARE GOING TO LOOSE A LOT OF CUSTOMERS AND THEIR REPUTATION.
THIS IS LIKE GETTING ANNOYING TELEPHONE CALLS FOR DONATIONS EVERY DAY BY HUNDREDS OF CALLERS. WILL SKYPE GET THE MESSAGE? EVERYONE KEEP BEATING ON SKYPE!!!!

Contact request spam

So, i keep geting the this person i dont even know trying to add me on skype. And each time i go to block the person they keep creating new accounts to add me on. I dont know what they are trying to acheve.

It's not easy to get around, however Skype has some means of dealing with this:
https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA34447/what-should-i-do-if-i-see-abusive-behavior-on-skype?q=harra...

Unsolicited Contact requests

I am getting a lot of these lately and continue to block them and report them but I am not convinced that any action is being taken - whats going on - does anyone know??

if you report those users, especially if you send a detailed report to [email protected], Skype will surely take time to check or investigate the activities of those users and do the appropriate actions against their account/s (which may range from temporary to permanent suspension).
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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BLOCK unsolicited contact attempts

PLEASE - when is Microsoft's Skype going to allow users the (optional) privacy of BLOCK UNSOLICITED CONTACT attempts? 'm fed up with being harrassed by "Nubile in Nigera" or "Great t*ts in Ghana" - such can cause considerable embarrassment, suspicion and family ructions, doubt and angst. I'm well aware there have been several requests for a feature such as this yet there has been NO RESPONSE from either Microsoft or Skype. Thank you.

I have read other complaints of this nature so I wish to add to these. I am fed up to the back teeth with the number of unsolicited contact requests with some of them sounding rather creepy which makes me feel decidedly uncomfortable. They are mostly if not all from American men who claim a lot of the time to be serving in Afghanistan and give long sob stories. Now whilst I am sensitive to and hugely appreciative of what armed forces from countries around the world do to protect us all I still do not welcome this intrusion. Kindly do something about this now. As you at Skype are fully aware there are several alternatives of this type of communication available so if you wish to keep your customer base and so keep your business going and all the implications of that business might I STRONGLY suggest you carry these changes out sooner rather than later.

Junk Contact Requests!

I get up to 10 requests a day from junk "men" wanting to be my friend. Fed up with it and spend time every day having to block these people. I have set my Privacy Settings so only people in my contacts can contact me or message me so why am i getting all this junk which verges on abuse?

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?

Spam contact requests

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...

Spam with contact requests

So a while ago like a month ago I stopped talking to this one person. He started to get kinda strange acting wierd so I blocked him, but ever since then I have been getting contact requests from him. It is so bad every day it's a diffrent person today it was "Jennifer". I'm wondering is there a way to stop this can I contact skype to have this persons IP banned from my account? Any form of help is appreciated thank you.

Contact requests can't be blocked. Even if they were blockable by IP, people would just use a proxy/VPN to get around that block. It's similar to getting spammed by an autodialer with phone calls. For all you know all your Skype names were posted in an online forum and harvested by spam bots ot make the situation worse. The only solution available is to create a new account and be more selective of the people you choose as contacts and the groups you create/join. I'm part of groups but the ones I'm a part of everyone behaves like a grown adult and wouldn't stoop to that level. The alternative is to contact local law enforcement and see what type of cyberbullying policies/laws there are to see if you can hold that person accountable for their actions (harassment).

Can't stop the spam contact requests

I've removed all profile information and set everything to as private as possible. But, somehow creepy guys keep sending me contact requests. How do they find out my user name? I don't tell it to random people, and the Skype search seems too inferior to be able to just search for random people... you need to know something precise like the email address. Where are they getting my info? It does seem it requires I be online in order for them to send me a contact request... if I don't use Skype for a long time, there aren't contact requests when I sign back on.
I've even removed my gender, said I'm 110 years old, and put up a profile photo of a morbidly obese fat man, but nothing stops them. What do I do? Why does Skype think that this is a problem that isn't worth solving? Other social networking systems in the past have been abandoned because of too many spammers... do we want this for Skype too?

I completely agree with this....I have used Windows and Skype for many years. I recently installed an older version of Skype to run on Windows 8.1 because the new version is SO AWFUL. As much as I prefer the older version (6.14), the daily number of SPAM CONTACT requests is rediculous and most are just variations of the same spammer. Maybe it is time to look for a replacement for both?

Spamming contact requests

I have, all of a sudden, started getting an awful lots of contact requests from people I don't know. This is a recent phenomenon and it is getting very god **bleep** annoying . If I wanted to talk to someone I don't know I would have my privacy settings so they could just contact me.
My privacy setting are purposely set as they are, have been set like this for over a year and will remain set as they are.
How do I stop this without stopping people I want to get in touch with from finding me?

please check the suggestions mentioned here;
How to Handle Unwanted Contact Requests
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!
ALTERNATIVE SKYPE DOWNLOAD LINKS | HOW TO RECORD SKYPE VIDEO CALLS | HOW TO HANDLE SUSPICIOS CALLS AND MESSAGES
SEE MORE TIPS, TRICKS, TUTORIALS AND UPDATES in
| skypefordummies.blogspot.com |

Unsolicited calls and contact requests - mostly fr...

Although I have had all "contact me" options blocked for all users except those in my contact list, I get several contact requests every day - typically from people purporting to be women from Ghana, Africa. The town given is usually Kumasi - though often with another country. South Afrioca figures highly too. I suspect that these are the same person or persons, who repeatedly use different ID's and acocunts. For the past six months or so i have always blocked and reported abuse on the4se, but they keep coming. Is there no way for a user to block unsolicted calls from a given geographical area? Is there no skype "contact us" link anymore? Where does on complain about this? Ideas and suggestions please!

katjas wrote:
I have the same problem. I've checked my privacy settings many times and changed to allow calls and IM from contacts only, but each time I come back to privacy settings it is set to "anyone". I even tried to uninstall and install skype, didn't help.
I would also appreciate if I could contact support team at Skype somehow to check my account settings...
I'm not sure of what the logic behind this procedure, but actual responses from users who tried it confirm that it works.
Please switch your status to offline for at least a minute, then switch back to online. Then change your privacy settings to see if they will stick this time.
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Contact requests

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

Skype sent out contact request without permission?...

Alright so I contacted support over this and they just said they couldn't answer my question because they didn't know. I guess I'm not searching for answers anymore but just seeing if this has happened to anyone else or if someone can find some error I made to make this happen ... Thanks for your time in reading.
SO... Awhile back I deleted my ex from Skype and blocked him. I would like to mention I had him blocked numerous times but he could still send a contact request...... Anyways... I had him deleted and blocked and then three days ago, randomly out of NOWHERE... I look at my contacts and he's in them- saying that IVE sent a contact request to HIM.................... And it offered the option to resend it. I flipped out so hard because it really does make me look crazy if he got a contact request from me............ Out of nowhere ....
I can only hope it was a one sided thing and he never got the receiving end of that message. I had him blocked but nowhere in the chat near 'resend request' did it say 'this contact is blocked' as I seem to remember it doing before.
Ugh.. This situation had me so fearful that it would start like, spamming contact requests or later on doing something else because if Skype support can't explain it, then im just gonna just go ahead and say my account was possessed. To try and counter this, I deleted the account today and made a new one.
So yeah, anyone have any similar experience? ... Did I do something critically wrong that somehow did this? Is it possible /he/ was the one sending the request? (OFC that doesn't make sense because it was giving me the option to resend and saying it was pending.) also, if it's pending does that mean he hasn't accepted and the request was waiting there or could it be rejected and still say pending?
Thanks for your time xoxoxox ♡

ambitiouswhiteg wrote:
Today I had a new person added to my contacts list, (not recent conversations), that I did not approve. I have had people I don't know randomly request to be added but this is the first time where someone was added without my consent.
First off, I would like to report this individual since he has obviously circumvented Skype security features. He is soliciting his S. African business through his profile. How do I go about reporting this because aside from this forum on security I can't find a way to report on your website. I have read several other users post similar stories dating back a few years and I am surprised this is still an issue although I am grateful I have never had this happen before.
Here is the information on the unsolicited contact:
*edited for privacy*
Please advise,
Chrystal
you can send this information to the department specifically handling cases of abuse of Skype services - [email protected]
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!
ALTERNATIVE SKYPE DOWNLOAD LINKS | HOW TO RECORD SKYPE VIDEO CALLS | HOW TO HANDLE SUSPICIOS CALLS AND MESSAGES
SEE MORE TIPS, TRICKS, TUTORIALS AND UPDATES in
| skypefordummies.blogspot.com |

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

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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Unsolicited contact requests (spams / junk)

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