Hi I've set my privacy options so that only contacts can contact me for anything, yet I continue to get unwanted requests to add unknown people to my contact list. I don't know how others get my contact details to even send a request to me ? This seems like someone has hacked my details from SKYPE. Is there a way to stop this from happening ?

You can't stop it happening, I'm afraid.
Setting your Privacy Options as you have won't have any effect.
You can mitigate the annoyance factor by going to > Tools > Options >Notification Settings and ticking the box to show requests to exchange details in your system tray rather than having a ''pop up'' message on your screen.
You can then deal with them at a time of your choosing.

That's unfortunate that you can't stop the unwanted contact requests. For example, one just came in from 'hot rosy sexy girl' and I need to eliminate these requests. I understand you can stop both the window and tray pop-ups but I think it is unacceptable that I simply can turn off contact requests. These inappropriate requests, and the inability to turn them off, will certainly turn away many customers to include me. Are you sure there is nothing I can do to prevent these? I block each one that comes in but in a day or two another one comes in from another user.

just got the same kind but from nicolecage20
saying :
NicoleCage20 says: Free Sex www.x-take.com
I keep blocking them and they keep coming back !!!

I am also VERY bothered by the constant "spam" like requests from "sexygirlcaitlin" or whatever the name happens to be. Skype NEEDS to do something about this! More than an annoyance, it shows an unwillingness of Skype to consider this a serious issue. What if my kids click on those links?

I have seen posts like these around these forums asking for feedback from SKYPE but haven't seen any feedback to date.

Does this mean its not going to be looked at? Or do they just not read their forums.

Has anyone here logged a support ticket about it? That may be the only way to bring it to someones attention.

Extremely annoying but probably just a fact of life with being online. I just block them so that I never hear from them again. Still, annoying.

This problem has rendered Skype usable for me now. If a solution is not found, immediately, people will get out of the habit of having Skype running, may even just uninstall it, I stopped it from starting up with windows.

This issue, has now caused Skype to be way too much trouble. There needs to be a way to disable your username from being searchable. I'll just let my friends know by way of email how to hook up with me. THAT is what I would really like to be able to do.

just my 2 cents

I am having the same issue, except instead of one of these messages every couple of days, I have 10 or more a day! Telling me that I have to just accept it or to turn off my notification settings is not helpful, why should I be inconvenienced because Skype doesn't want to address this problem? I can't leave Skype running because of this, which means it's no quicker than email (even less so, actually) for my contacts to get into touch with me since I have to constantly sign in and out or be subjected to these constant spam/spim messages that I do NOT want my children or business contacts to click on accidentally.

Hi

if it helps some way , When Im using my mac at work I have never got this problem but just when I log from my pc at home(windows7) or my netbook (xp) this annoying chat and unwanted addtions to my contact list begins

I find strange that this happens only on PC and I really think skype should take a step forward to solve this, Im a frequent customer of skype and this is really annoyng me

Sorry, ugaldemi, it happens on Macs too. You've just been lucky.

It's really offensive, and is starting to move me away from Skype. When I say I only want contacts to contact me, that's what I mean!

I understand that this makes it a little difficult to add people to your contact list if you block all contact from people who aren't already on the list. But there are ways around this, with a little imagination.

As it stands, I can't allow Skype to be running on my machine at work anymore, and I certainly can't recommend it to family and friends. Sad.

Please see this:

http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showtopic...t&p=1851021

Great... "we are working on [it]"... I wouldn't count on a fix anytime soon. Just look at this thread... it's 11 months old already!

I agree with some of the above comments. Skype is becoming useless. It's a waste of my time having to block (and report) each request every time I get back to my laptop.

At least give me a quick fix like the ability to block (and report) multiple requests at once. And get rid of the popup windows!

The better question is WHY IS THIS HAPPENING ALL OF SUDDEN AND SO MANY?

I've used Skype for two to three years now, and haven't received this magnitude of spam before. In the past two weeks I've counted 86 request and it seems to increase with each day.

This seems to work every where else, so I'll abuse it here too, "Think about the children!!" My ex and I both check our daughter's skype account often and sadly she accidentally confirmed a few of these low-lifes lately.

I've done searches on me and my daughter and cannot find our info listed in the directory, so HOW are these people getting my info? :wink wink:

it is TRIVIAL to farm Skype Names and no private details are being disclosed to anyone that requests your details/adds to you THEIR contact list

Hi, I'm having the same problem along with similar concerns. One thing is for certain though. The contacts looking for me to add them to my address book are mostly writing the exact same message. I reckon that someone has written a program to trawl the online Skype address book and then collect and target those addresses. Has any one tried to see where adding someone may lead to, in the interests of finding a technical solution? What Skype may have to do, is apply an image of letters and numbers as a pin, to gain access to someone's Skype address. This will prevent any programs from getting our details. Any thoughts?

Yes, and what isn't quite so trivial is when your 12 year old daughter clicks on a link and finds herself in a chatroom with lots of people wanting to make friends and maybe meet up in the park.

the only profile details that are available without authorization are those that are deemed to be public and these are clearly identified in your profile -- all of that information is optional

That's not the point, Neil. When your inquisitive daughter/son clicks on a Spam with a url to a dating site she/he is potentially exposed to nefarious characters intent on making her/him very welcome. What their intentions are does not bear thinking about.

This is what is annoying parents here, Neil. Trying to make it sound trivial and innocent. It's not. Children get groomed in chatrooms. A 2006 survey in the US found that 13% of children had received unwanted sexual solicitations online. The spam is potentially one way of luring unsuspecting, unsupervised children to chatrooms frequented by online predators.

All parents are asking for is a way of shutting off unwanted contact requests and remaining private. It's not a lot to ask and it's not hard to do. That Skype refuses to do this, while marketing its product to families, is just scandalous.

/rant
sorry

Human instinct to be protective of kids

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_grooming

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/2425.html

Please start taking this more seriously before the litigations start or something horrific happens to a minor using the Skype network.

All civilized countries have specific laws dealing with the grooming of children for sexual purposes. By failing to act to prevent the relay of sexual solicitations to minors Skype could be accused of being willfully negligent.

Quite right. Fortunately my kids are now adults but if I had youngsters, I would be seriously concerned. I cannot see the point of having privacy controls if they don't work. On landline and mobile phones we have an option to go "Ex-Directory" why can't it be so with Skype? I'm sorry Skype but soon I will have no alternative but to cancel my monthly payments and unistall you.

If a postman delivers sealed sexual material addressed to a child they cannot reasonably be held accountable. The sender is the criminal. But if the postman is aware the addressee is or could be a child and that the envelope contains sexually explicit material then the postman is guilty of knowingly participating in a crime.

I'm not sure where Skype's activity sits in this analogy. They know that most of the spam messages are sexual, and they know that many of their users are minors. They know they are permitting spammers to send invitations to view sexual content to children and not just failing to act but effectively refusing to act to prevent criminal activity on their property.

If I were a witness to this kind of grooming of children and failed to do something to prevent it I don't know how I would live with myself. Skype is something between a witness and a passive participant.

the above quote was posted almost a year ago... I've recently updated my skype to the latest version and never had the problem before, but now I'm being contacted by web cam contacts all the time referring to some XXX web cam site.... And yes, I also have the same settings about being contacted, contact list only. In my opinion it must be a security bug in the version I'm using (4.1.0.141) as this never happened to me before I upgraded.....

I'd like to see this get fixed or I'll be looking for other VOIP software which also lets me contact 'normal' phones..... without that option I may as well use msn messenger!!

This continuing problem of unwanted contact requests is no longer manageable by users. Instead of the odd contact request from 'sexy sarah' or whoever, we're now being bombarded with numerous requests every time we log on, and many with names that contain blatant obscenities. It is no longer acceptable for Skype simply to say that we can block the contact and report the abuse because, by its inaction, Skype appears to be complicit in the publishing of these obscenities. They may be minor and just an annoyance to many of us, but numerous others may become upset and distressed at these approaches and some vulnerable users may also foolishly accept the request, not realising the consequences of their action. I'm only one user among the hundreds who have commented on this and other related forums, but we really do need an assurance of some urgent action being taken to address this issue.

see also:

and http://www.2fatdads.com/2009/08/the-skype-...am-has-to-stop/

We have to start a bigger campaign to get some action.

That does appear so from the comments of most of the posters. The moderators on this and the 15 or so related Forum threads profess that action is occurring, though are unauthorized to provide any details on substance, function, nor timeline.

If you haven't previously, I'd recommend that you read the informational disclaimer below to properly set your expectations for postings in the User Forum threads, unless venting is adequate. FYI, these addresses may also be of interest: security@skype.net, support@skype.net.

Here is a snippet from the above Forum Announcement link:

For those Mac OS X users, I found the solution: downgrade to version 2.7.0.330 and a bug in the program actually prevents all Add Contact requests from coming to you! (even legitimate ones)

Of course you'll be flooded if you log in on another computer...

This is my experience at least. For repeatability, I have included a screenshot of my options. I attempted to add myself from a bogus account I created for the test (big_spammer).

Click to view attachment

Yep...

see here

http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showtopic...p;#entry1885921

Use the media links there to post your story.

So it would seem that the best course of action to get this onto Skype's radar screen would be for as many people as possible to raise support tickets on this issue.

It's the squeeky wheel that gets the grease.

Add my name to the list of people having problems with sex solicitation/spam (well, I hope I am not assuming too much but "horny babe" and "*uckable" suggest it might be so) with Skype. Everytime I turn on my Skype account, there are 60-80 new conversations from people who want me to add them to my list of contacts. I block them all, report the repeat offenders for abuse, but the stream is never-ending. Despite having my privacy settings as restricted as possible.

Major violators are: Shalonda Powell, Vicky Gilliam, Katherine Knox and Krysta Myers who each have up to a dozen different user names appearing on my "blocked" list. Who uses Skype in my house? Mainly an 8-yr-old child communicating with family members who live far away.

It is disheartening to see how it appears to have become a problem for so many of us, so suddenly. Yes, there is a problem with the latest version of Skype. That's when the barrage started here, too. Whatever work is being done on it, please Skype, could you speed it up?

I downloaded Skype v3.8.0.188 from FileHippo, and have not been bothered by unwanted contact requests or Contact List additions since then.

The old version 3.8.0.108 don't have this problem.
I have to computers and I never find contacts added to my list in the OLD version.
However on my new computer with the new version the unwanted contacts are added when I switch on.
I'll suggest Skype to make it possible to download the old version until they find a solution.

I have just tried to install the old version without luck. Skype will only allow an upgrade to the new version.

I don't want to go back to an earlier version. I find the sound and video performance of V4.1 is a big improvement on previous offerings.

So I've been thinking about how Skype could improve the spamming situation. It's nice that people can use Skype to find long-lost school friends, for example, so it would be a pity to block all unsolicited contact requests. I've come up with a few thoughts:

1. The most obvious way to stop automated spammers is to require a response via a registered email address, or by one of those "captcha" things with the distorted code, for every contact request. Though I believe even some of these methods have been cracked.

2. Put a limit on the number of contact requests that can be made in a day from any one account. I'm not sure that that would really stop the spammers because they would just set up lots of Skype accounts, but it makes it more difficult because they would need to keep changing accounts, which takes time.

3. Require all users to have Skype credit before they can issue contact requests. That makes everyone traceable (via Credit Card), but might put some people off from joining in the first place (especially spammers).

4. Skype could make a charge for contact requests that do not get accepted. I don't think there'd be much spamming if it cost them to do it. The extra revenue could be put into sorting out bugs faster.

I don't really like the idea of Skype charging for contact requests, but it would certainly put an end to spamming. I can't see them doing it though, because I think it would put off a lot of first time users.

Yes, 3 and 4 would stop the spammers dead in their tracks. It would also mean very few users would sign up for Skype. The value of Skype to its previous and new owners is its ubiquity and huge user base and further potential for growth. So that's a non-starter for Skype.

Number 2 would have no effect as the spammers are using increasingly sophisticated spambots.

It's like a continual technical arms race with spammers. I think the only solution is to give THE USER the OPTION to BLOCK INCOMING REQUESTS.

But of course, for Skype giving the user a choice is completely out of the question too. Isn't it.

A new version of a program that was created to help people with this issue has been created, all known bugs have been fixed.

To install and for support on this please get the program here and post any questions there about this program there as well.

Thanks

More Here: http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showtopic...t&p=1904801

Unfortuantely, this isn't the case. Either Skype "listened" to us and fixed the bug in this client version, or it isn't in the settings you've posted here. I set mine to this hoping it would solve this problem, which is more than a little annoying to me since I'm getting add requests about every 30 seconds, and it hasn't worked.