My Skype account may be locked or compromised

Here is some information you might find useful if you are having trouble signing in.

What do I do if I think I’ve been hacked or get the message “Help us secure your account”?

• In the course of the past few days, you may have noticed unauthorized charges, spam being sent to your contact list, or unrecognized names appearing in your file sharing account. If this occurs, it could mean that your account has been compromised or hacked.

• The message “Help us secure your account” may have appeared when you tried to sign into Skype when you tried to sign in. In this case, Microsoft may have taken steps to lock down your account until you have the chance to deal with the issue and take action if out-of-the-ordinary activity has taken place.

We would like you to take a look at How to recover a compromised or hacked Microsoft account if you have experienced either of these issues.

Why was my Microsoft Account locked?

Our team will temporarily lock your account if we notice any unusual activity on it in order to help protect you from fraud or abuse if we notice any unusual activity on your account. To find out more information about the account being locked, please visit the account has been locked page.

Learn more about Protecting your online safety, security, and privacy.

Frequently Asked Questions

 

How do I fix my locked Skype account?

In order to retrieve your account information, you need to do the following:

If you are having difficulty logging in, you can click Forgot my password under the sign-in fields on the Microsoft website. After selecting I forgot my password, you will be asked to enter your email address. It is necessary for you to enter your email address or phone number, and then enter the Captcha code before you press the next button.

How did my Skype get hacked?

The Skype team believes that hackers have illegally obtained a combination of username and passwords used on other websites and tried to use them to sign in to Skype using those same credentials. A simple attack on one of these sites can compromise the credentials of all your other accounts on those sites if you re-use credentials across different sites and services.

Why did Skype lock my account?

This could mean that your account has been compromised or hacked. The message ‘Help us secure your account’ may have appeared when you attempted to sign in to Skype when you received the message. Occasionally, Microsoft will lock down your account if they find out that there has been unusual activity taking place, and until you are able to take your account back, they will lock down your account.

Can my phone be hacked through Skype?

Despite the fact that Skype is vulnerable to cyber-attacks just like any other program, an independent developer has discovered a frightening new bug in Skype for Android that makes it vulnerable to cyber-attacks and other threats.

Can people hack your Skype account?

Your Skype account should be secured with a strong password so that you can access it easily. For this reason, it is critical that you use a strong, unique password on every website you visit, if you want to protect your account (not just on Skype, but across all websites).

All images and contents credit goes to supportskype.com