Skype Stinks! (or how my account got hacked and skpe refused to refund $)

Edited for clarity and includes update

So, on Sunday my Skype account was hacked. They changed my e-mail and password, created a business account (You’d think an account named ‘ASDF” would have raised some eye brows at Skype) and then made four separate charges totalling €150. Skype admits that my account was hacked into, but will not refund the charges. Now I am awaiting PayPal decision about the matter. I've notified my bank, but cannot dispute the charge until PayPal chooses to resolve my case, or not as the case might be.

Turns out this is extremely common (google Skype fraud and there are tons of examples) and has been going on for the past four years at least. The account is hacked into, a business account is created and the auto repay is used to make multiple charges.

Anyway, if you use Skype but don't pay for anything you'll be ok. If you use Skype credits here's the best way to protect yourself: 1) Use a really secure password, 2) Link it to a PayPal account with a different address (with $ coming off a credit card - so much easier to dispute a charge!), 3) Turn off auto recharge, 4) Create your own business account so no one else can. Avoiding paying for Skype services is still probably the best bet.

Thanks for the heads up!  I always turn off the automatic payment anyway.  Do you have yours set up to fund from paypal then?  Do they also have to know your paypal password to make charges to skype? 

That stinks! Is there no one higher up that you could take it up with?

How do you turn off automatic payments?  Does it have to do with Skype credits, because I don't have that.  I just have the cheapo subscription to call the US and that is all I can afford!  Certainly don't want to have to deal with what you're going through.

I hope you can get your money back somehow.  What a terrible policy. 

I had my paypal account set up on Skype to take automatic payments so it was an easy way for them to take $. If automatic payments aren't set up then they have to know your paypal password to take more money. So make sure those passwords are different.

There's a button to turn of automatic payments on the skpe account page.

All I can remember is that if I run out of credit whilst talking, Paypal sends me a notice of paying it. Now I need to see if Skype has the Paypal password? I know that my Skype and Paypal passwords are different so does that help? Is it better to have a different payment method?

I can't afford overseas communications or in country calls w/o Skype.

I was wondering how secure such voice over internet services are as I wanted to do bank electronic transfers with it?!

Did Microsoft recently take them over?

Hope you get it resolved.

I really hope Paypal is more helpful, they are usually very good for me if something like this happens, to only problem is they took money away from you and now you have to wait and see if you are going to get it back.
No matter what ends up happening you are out of money now.
So sorry this happened.  Skype is what made it possible for my Sons Grandparents to really see him grow. 

i have a international credit on magic jack and cant get a refund or any thing they told me to make international calls and i'm in Scotland they suck also I can call the states , well I will see i have to get a fone to hook up to try and see if it still works  lol but where elses will I call ? hum don't know any one else the dam fools if i want to call anyone i'll use my cell over here

So sorry geezz skype has always been good to me. When service was down I got credit and they have always been helpful - I hope you take this higher up.

scotland09 - magic jack is my enemy - I despise that thing as that company blocks so many things and blames it on other carriers grrrrr. 

I prefer to pay my 5 quid a month for sky to call all US mobile/landlines and I also pay $50 a year for a US phone number so my work # can be fwd to wherever I am.
 

So after calling my bank and PayPal, Skype has done a chargeback and the money should be back by next week. What a relief! Being persistant has really helped. Although, I have to wonder why Skype said originally that they wouldn't refund my account even though they stated that the transactions were fraudulant. 

Anyway, please for your own state of minds safeguard your accounts - no one needs the stress of discovering money missing from your account.