A quick bit of testing showed that while I could make 'normal' Skype calls to other Skype users, I couldn’t call out to regular phone numbers from Skype, and I couldn’t call my Skype phone number from anywhere else.Īfter some investigating, I found what was likely the cause of the problem: way back at the end of May, my credit card had been compromised, and I’d had to cancel the card and get a new one (I’m not sure where the compromise occurred, but the credit card company caught what it called a 'test' charge at an online retailer and blocked it immediately). I did the interview with my cell on speakerphone so that I could record it with a handheld recorder and then went digging. Instead of ringing, the Skype client immediately disconnected with an error that said 'Account blocked.' The cause Until two weeks ago, when I went to make a Skype call to an interviewee’s cell phone. For about $60 a year, Skype gives me a phone number in my area code and the ability to make unlimited calls to and from it, and I’ve been paying that $60 a year and using Skype for six years without incident. I prefer it over Google Voice or Google Hangouts because it’s a much simpler tool to deal with, and damn near everyone already has a Skype account anyway. It’s far and away the easiest method by which to record phone interviews (using the Call Recorder plug-in). Skype is a regular tool in my journalist toolkit.

Skype call fails immediately