First off, don't answer any calls, reply to any messages or click on any links sent to you from someone you don't recognize as a friend or someone on your contact list. What might appear to be an innocuous message might be an attempt to break into your computer, steal your identity or copy credit cards or your contact list.

The good news is that Skype's privacy features are available to easily help you prevent such nuisances. With Skype open, select the Skype drop-down menu in the upper-left corner. Click on Preferences. This will show you a list of communications you can receive, and who is allowed to contact you. Choose the options for "Only people in my Contact List" to prevent anyone else from sending you a message or calling you over Skype.

This may not eliminate all unwanted messages as Skype does not have a spam filter set up. However, you may add unwanted senders to your blocked users list using the "Manage Blocked Users" function under Contacts. An additional way to increase your privacy is to turn off the "SkypeMe" function, which allows users to see you and contact you by Skype. Deselect this under Accounts and "Change Status."