My Skype email address was changed

[sumrit]

The email address I've always used for Skype is ************@hotmail.com. Yesterday I received an email from Skype 'confirming' I had changed it to *************@milokr.es, which I hadn't done.

Looking in my account the email address plus a couple of other settings (tick boxes made active) had been changed. I changed everything again but it took three attempts before it was accepted. It still appears OK at the moment.

What is also strange is that the notification email informing me of the change of email address to*************@milokr.es was sent to my original ************@hotmail.com address, yet when I reset everything again the notification email was then sent to the new address I 'd just set.

Nothing else appears to have been changed/deleted and my Skype credit has not been touched, it's still there.

I tried sending an email to *************@milokr.es see if I received it via my hotmail account but just got a delivery failure notification saying the address didn't exist.

Can anybody suggest what's been going on? And has anybody else had a similar problem? If so, was it a one off or did you have repeated problems.

[KittenKong]

Change your Skype password. Do it NOW.

Learn how to create secure passwords. https://identitysafe.norton.com/password-generator

The warning that your email address had been changed was sent to your old address precisely so that you would be warned if it wasn't you who changed it.

[sumrit]

Change your Skype password. Do it NOW.

That was the very first thing I did. Thank's anyway.

The warning that your email address had been changed was sent to your old address precisely so that you would be warned if it wasn't you who changed it.

I understand where you're coming from, but it doesn't add up. If, after any changes, the email is always sent my the 'old (hotmail) address' then, after the original change, and when I first looked at my account, *************@milokr.es was listed as the 'official or primary' email address. So when I changed everything again, if what you say is correct, the notification should have gone to that address. But it didn't, it still came to my hotmail address. Confusing.

[KittenKong]

I understand where you're coming from, but it doesn't add up. If, after any changes, the email is always sent my the 'old (hotmail) address' then, after the original change, and when I first looked at my account, *************@milokr.es was listed as the 'official or primary' email address. So when I changed everything again, if what you say is correct, the notification should have gone to that address. But it didn't, it still came to my hotmail address. Confusing.

It's true, it doesn't make much sense. I have no further explanation I'm afraid.

[rakman]

Change your Skype password. Do it NOW.

That was the very first thing I did. Thank's anyway.

The warning that your email address had been changed was sent to your old address precisely so that you would be warned if it wasn't you who changed it.

I understand where you're coming from, but it doesn't add up. If, after any changes, the email is always sent my the 'old (hotmail) address' then, after the original change, and when I first looked at my account, *************@milokr.es was listed as the 'official or primary' email address. So when I changed everything again, if what you say is correct, the notification should have gone to that address. But it didn't, it still came to my hotmail address. Confusing.

How do you know the alert didn't go to the hacked address? They may have sent an email to both addresses.

[MilesofSmiles]

THey are phishing your account.

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

[sumrit]

THey are phishing your account.

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

Thanks MilesofSmiles. It makes sense. The first thing I did was change my password.

[Chicog]

Change your Account Recovery information as well.

[Gulfsailor]

Did that email actually come from Skype? Check the URL it linked to. If not, go to skype URL by typing it in the browser, then rest your password again. And then also change your hotmail password and check your system for any malware.

[sumrit]

Yes thanks, the links to access my account in the email go to the genuine Skype website. I had compared the URL of the page I was taken to by the email link with the same page accessed directly via my Skype account and again accessing the page via Googling Skype.

Also the first time I went into my account to check and reset my password after receiving the email I accessed it directly and ignored the email link.

I've had my hotmail account hacked into once before, a few years ago, so I automatically changed that password as well

[Chicog]

^ And change your account recovery information as well.

[sumrit]

^ And change your account recovery information as well.

Thanks, will do. My internet's been off for two days and only just seen your reply.

Edited to add:

Just been into my account to look for the account recovery and I've found why my account has been hacked into.

Somebody has set up a subscription to phone the Ukraine. 800 minutes per month at a cost of £52.89 per month.

That'll teach me to leave a payment method active with Skype!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll contact Skype to complain but does anybody know what the chances of getting my money back are?

Edited January 30, 2014 by sumrit

[Chicog]

Dunno but bastards eh.

Unlucky mate. You need to give your PC a right old once over and find out how they got your password, and prevent it happening again.

Update your antivirus regularly, apply all patches to Windows AND apps (look for Secunia PSI), add Spybot and do a regular scan with that, etc.

Make sure your firewall is on at all times.

Delete any emails that look remotely suspicious.

Don't go to dodgy websites,.

Etc.
Etc.

[sumrit]

Dunno but bastards eh.

Unlucky mate. You need to give your PC a right old once over and find out how they got your password, and prevent it happening again.

Update your antivirus regularly, apply all patches to Windows AND apps (look for Secunia PSI), add Spybot and do a regular scan with that, etc.

Make sure your firewall is on at all times.

Delete any emails that look remotely suspicious.

Don't go to dodgy websites,.

Etc.

Etc.

No idea how they hacked in at the moment. I got a virus while back in the UK some 2-3 years ago and I thought that, since then, I had been very careful with everything, anti virus windows etc are always checked automatically for updates daily, all emails are scanned as I receive them and, even then, I delete any I'm suspicious of. I even use a virtual keyboard when I log on to any site with a username/password to prevent any chance of some sort of keylogger reading anything.

And I don't go onto any 'dodgy websites' that I know of......................unless you include Arsenal's

I complained to Skype yesterday but, in spite of their promise to reply within 24 hours, they still haven't contacted me. I'm still suspicious of the fact that when my original email address was changed the notification of that change was sent to that original address. I've since changed the email address a couple of times and the notification is always sent to the new address only.

It's taught me that, despite Skype's security claims the only way to be sure of not losing out is not to use their auto recharge facility which means leaving a payment method active on your account.

If they don't reimburse me I think I'll start a campaign on loads of forums and, if possible, in the media telling people of the risks and urging everybody to cancel their auto recharge option.

Fifty-two quid's nothing to them but it's made me bloody angry.

[Gulfsailor]

Dunno but bastards eh.

Unlucky mate. You need to give your PC a right old once over and find out how they got your password, and prevent it happening again.

Update your antivirus regularly, apply all patches to Windows AND apps (look for Secunia PSI), add Spybot and do a regular scan with that, etc.

Make sure your firewall is on at all times.

Delete any emails that look remotely suspicious.

Don't go to dodgy websites,.

Etc.

Etc.

No idea how they hacked in at the moment. I got a virus while back in the UK some 2-3 years ago and I thought that, since then, I had been very careful with everything, anti virus windows etc are always checked automatically for updates daily, all emails are scanned as I receive them and, even then, I delete any I'm suspicious of. I even use a virtual keyboard when I log on to any site with a username/password to prevent any chance of some sort of keylogger reading anything.

And I don't go onto any 'dodgy websites' that I know of......................unless you include Arsenal's

I complained to Skype yesterday but, in spite of their promise to reply within 24 hours, they still haven't contacted me. I'm still suspicious of the fact that when my original email address was changed the notification of that change was sent to that original address. I've since changed the email address a couple of times and the notification is always sent to the new address only.

It's taught me that, despite Skype's security claims the only way to be sure of not losing out is not to use their auto recharge facility which means leaving a payment method active on your account.

If they don't reimburse me I think I'll start a campaign on loads of forums and, if possible, in the media telling people of the risks and urging everybody to cancel their auto recharge option.

Fifty-two quid's nothing to them but it's made me bloody angry.

They'll likely offer you the funds back in exchange to signing an agreement that you won't talk anymore about this subject in public. Only sign if it applies to this case only, otherwise next time it happens to you, you can't do anything and not even complain about it publicly without risking getting sued by them.

Banks are famous to work in a similar way towards ATM skimming victims.

[KittenKong]

No idea how they hacked in at the moment.

Your password and/or security questions/answers were probably too simple. Most people's are.

Check that link I posted.

[sumrit]

No idea how they hacked in at the moment.

Your password and/or security questions/answers were probably too simple. Most people's are.

Check that link I posted.

I did look at your link but I don't think my password was too simple. I've changed it now so I won't be compromising anything by showing how I came about my old Skype password then you can tell me if you think it was too simple, OK.

I have been married three times and each wife has more than one brother, eight (ex and current) brothers in law. Firstly I chose the name of one of my second wife's three brothers (not an English name), Then I re-arranged it (slightly) and then inter dispersed it with four of the eight numbers of my first wife's birth date (that I had also jumbled up).

To work out my password somebody would first have to guess how it was constructed, then guess which one of the eight names I used, guess how I re-arranged the letters in that name, then guess I'd chosen numbers from one of my wives birth dates, guess which wife, guess which four of the eight numbers I'd chosen to use, guess how I'd jumbled them up.......................and lastly, guess where within the letters of the name I had put each number.

NOW DOES THAT MAKE THE PASSWORD TOO SIMPLE????

I must admit that I only make passwords this complex when security is essential. And each password is constructed using a different criteria so it's no good going through my brother in laws names, even if you could guess what they were.

For sites such as forums and needing to register to be able to post in on line newspapers etc I do use simpler passwords, such as names of people, towns, football clubs, etc.But then, financially and otherwise, and with the greatest of respect to Thai Visa, they don't need the same level of security.

[KittenKong]

A good password should contain both upper and lower case letters, numbers and some non-alphanumeric characters such as punctuation marks.

It should be as random as possible. To achieve this you can use a password generator such as the one in the link I posted.

It should not contain any real words, in any shape or form.

Passwords that conform to that procedure are relatively secure, but it's still only relative.

[sumrit]

A good password should contain both upper and lower case letters, numbers and some non-alphanumeric characters such as punctuation marks.

It should be as random as possible. To achieve this you can use a password generator such as the one in the link I posted.

It should not contain any real words, in any shape or form.

Passwords that conform to that procedure are relatively secure, but it's still only relative.

My pass word contained (6) random letters and (4) random numbers. I forgot to mention using both upper and lower case for the letters. The use of punctuation marks are not normally allowed in passwords.

I would just like to point out that the purpose of hacking into my Skype account appears to be so they can add an expensive subscription to enable them to call the Ukraine.

I was first alerted because my email address had been changed.

If they got into my account by 'guessing' my Skype password they would already 'be in' and able set up that subscription, there would be no need to change my email address. In fact not changing it would seem to have been the better option for them because I wouldn't then have been alerted to any problem at all.

I've emailed Skype but, as yet, they haven't replied, even though they promise to reply within 24 hours. Will send a stronger email today.

Edited February 1, 2014 by sumrit