Unauthorized charge.

Question

I had an expired credit card listed on file for payment. I did not change or add a new credit card. However, I was charged on my new credit card without my adding it to the account or authorizing the use of that card. What happened?

Answer 1

Can you go to your account https://account.live.com Sign in and go to Services & Subscription, do you see anything that matches the charges? If not, click on Order history instead and anything?

Micosoft lists some other scenarios you can explore: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/how-to-investigate-a-billing-charge-from-microsoft-398c5328-364c-d5e4-ea8f-f5ad60562a93

If you find the charges on YOUR account but you don't recognize making those purchase, for your privacy and security, billing matter cannot be discussed here, nor does anyone helping here have access to such data. You will need to contact support to get it handled. On your computer, launch the Get Help app from the start menu, then type in "Billing" as the keyword. On the next page, you can click on "Contact support" button. Then fill out a few more details and you will be directed to the page where you will have the option to chat with a live support agent.

If you cannot locate the charges on your Microsoft account at all, it's possible that your credit card has been compromised. This means unauthorized charges may have been made on someone else's Microsoft account using your credit card. In such a scenario, you should contact your credit card company to open a dispute case. Microsoft is unable to directly investigate issues related to someone else's account if you contact their Billing Support directly. However, once a dispute case is initiated by your credit card company, Microsoft can then respond specifically to those claims through the dispute process with the credit card company. This is the appropriate channel to resolve such issues, as it ensures proper verification and handling of the unauthorized charges.

Answer 2

Most likely, the new card was automatically updated by the bank or payment provider on the existing Microsoft payment profile, even though it was never manually added.

Many banks participate in automatic account updater services. When a card expires or is replaced (for example, due to expiry or fraud), the bank can send the new card details to merchants where the old card was already being used for recurring payments or subscriptions. This allows recurring charges (like Microsoft 365 or other Microsoft subscriptions) to continue without interruption, and the charge then appears on the replacement card.

To investigate and address this:

1. Go to the Microsoft account dashboard and review recent charges using the guidance in How to investigate a billing charge from Microsoft. The article explains common causes such as recurring subscriptions, repeat attempts of previously declined charges, or split/pre‑orders.
2. On the same dashboard, review the payment methods associated with the account and remove or change any payment option that should no longer be used, following the steps in Troubleshoot payment option issues.
3. If the charge is not recognized or is not an intentional subscription renewal, use the Investigate option on the Manage your payments page as described in the billing‑charge article, and then request a refund if eligible.
4. If the charge appears fraudulent or cannot be matched to any Microsoft subscription or purchase, contact Microsoft Support using the billing‑support paths shown in the Q&A examples, or dispute the transaction with the bank as an unauthorized charge.

If someone else had access to the Microsoft account or device, also review account security and sign‑in activity and change the account password.

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References:

• How to investigate a billing charge from Microsoft
• Troubleshoot payment option issues
• Cancel an order or pre-order from Microsoft Store
• Cancel a monthly charge on my visa credit card - Microsoft Q&A
• Can I speak to someone? -- Billing issues - Microsoft Q&A
• fraud charges on microsoft account - Microsoft Q&A
• Fraud Charges - Microsoft Q&A
• How to Cancel Microsoft 365 subscription if you do not have account info? Or get anyone to help? - Microsoft Q&A