diff --git a/include/connections.php b/include/connections.php
index 60bce018e..e9d7daa2d 100644
--- a/include/connections.php
+++ b/include/connections.php
@@ -369,7 +369,7 @@ function contact_remove($channel_id, $abook_id) {
 		return false;
 
 
-	$r = q("select * from item where (owner_xchan = '%s' or author_xchan = '%s') and uid = %d",
+	$r = q("select id from item where (owner_xchan = '%s' or author_xchan = '%s') and uid = %d",
 		dbesc($abook['abook_xchan']),
 		dbesc($abook['abook_xchan']),
 		intval($channel_id)