Skype spamming: Bleg

Skype spamming seems to be on the up and up. I had about six people yesterday telling me they wanted me to add them to their contacts. I just got my second today. When I tell them I’m busy, they all seem fine with that, and don’t keep bugging me – or most don’t. But most want me to add them to my contacts. Why is that such a big deal for them – and am I taking a risk chatting with them for a minute or so?

What’s the economic model behind this? And yes, some are from Nigeria. (Though it surprises me they say so.)

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conrad
conrad
13 years ago

I’ve been using Skype for years — basically since it first started — and never got anything like that (I usually get about 1 annoyance every two months or so, and they’re almost all obviously directed at males). This makes me wonder if your account is marked as special for some reason in some book of annoyable people. I also would have thought that the spam button (or whatever the button is that allows you to block annoying callers), would have pretty much solved this problem since presumably these callers would be banned quickly and they would therefore have to keep on generating new profiles which must take some time.

Graham
13 years ago

I get about 2-3 requests per day, all women and many from Ghana. I only use Skype for work so I just block them. It does seem to have picked up in last 6 months. They see it as a social / dating network I suppose rather than a business tool. My FB file shows I am happily married and not seeking so not many unsolicited approaches there. I don’t mention personal details in Skype profile so perhaps that is why they give it a try. Nearly all requests are from people with no to minimal profile detail.