Ah it is my daily head ache. I power on the work laptop and get ready to start browsing the internet in search of something to write about. I also crank up the usual instant messaging applications. First MSN, then Skype; however lately Skype has been more of an annoyance than a benefit.

Starting about a month ago I began receiving invitations to view people's web cams. These are so obviously spam that it would be funny if I was not getting 3-7 per day and often 2-3 each time I open Skype.

Despite having my privacy settings to not allow IMs from people not in my contact list, and not allowing people to see me as on line unless they are in my list I still get these. They are also happening more and more frequently. To make matters worse the only recourse is to block them and select the "report abuse from this person" checkbox.

My favorite ones are the ones that say "Hey we talked all night Saturday, here is the web cam link you wanted". Now, I have had a few nights when I was younger where I do not remember much of the previous evening, but I would have to be really dim to fall for that one.

Skype's FAQ page is not helpful at all stating that to prevent these you just need to setup the privacy filters...in exactly the same way that I have them setup. Unfortunately it has not helped at all.