Unauthorized charge

Question

Hello, my Microsoft account was recently compromised by a hacker, and there is an unauthorized charge on my account that I did not make. The fraudulent charge is for a 1-year subscription to 'VPN Unlimited'. I did not authorize this purchase, and I do not want this service. Could you please help me cancel this fraudulent subscription immediately and issue a full refund back to my original payment method? Thank you for your help.

Answer 1

Hello, good day and thanks for your question. Sorry to know about this and I understand that you have encountered an unauthorized charge on your account.

It is best to cancel it under account.microsoft.com/services and check if there is also a refund option that will show up.

If there is no option that is present on your account, it is best to reach out to the bank to block and replace your card to avoid additional or future unwanted charge/s. It is also a good measure to temporarily lock it from the bank's website or the bank's mobile app as soon as possible and request for a refund from the bank from the fraudulent charge that happened.

Answer 2

To address the unauthorized VPN subscription and charge, follow these steps:

1. Investigate and dispute the charge

• Go to the Manage your payments page of the Microsoft account dashboard to review and investigate the billing charge from Microsoft. This helps confirm which subscription and account the charge is tied to and is the starting point for disputing unexpected or fraudulent charges.
• Use the guidance in How to investigate a billing charge from Microsoft (linked from the billing help pages) to identify and report the transaction as unauthorized.

2. Cancel the subscription

• Sign in to the Subscriptions/Services page for the Microsoft account and locate the VPN-related subscription.
• Cancel the subscription and turn off recurring billing so that no further renewals are charged. If the subscription cannot be cancelled online (for example, if it was purchased through a third party), follow the retailer/partner instructions referenced in the payment-option guidance.

3. Request a refund

• After cancellation, check refund eligibility using the Microsoft subscription refund guidance. Not all cancellations result in a refund, but the refund article explains when a subscription is eligible and walks through the process.
• If self-service options do not resolve the issue, contact Microsoft Support for billing so an agent can review the charge and apply the refund if it meets the policy.

4. Protect the payment method and account

• If the card or payment method was used without authorization, contact the bank or card issuer immediately to report the fraudulent charge and block or replace the card so it cannot be used again.
• Review stored payment options in the Microsoft account and remove any payment method that should not be stored.
• Follow the Microsoft account security guidance (change password, review security info, enable two-step verification) to secure the account and prevent further compromise.

These steps together cancel the subscription, initiate a refund request where eligible, and help prevent future unauthorized charges.

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References:

• How to get a refund on a Microsoft subscription
• Prevent unauthorized purchases from Microsoft Store
• Unable to cancel your Microsoft subscription
• Pay for a past-due Microsoft subscription
• Troubleshoot payment option issues
• Get help with your Microsoft account
• My credit card is being used by an unknown person to buy Xbox pass. How do I cancel the monthly payment? - Microsoft Q&A
• Can I speak to someone? -- Billing issues - Microsoft Q&A
• Cancel my Microsoft monthly subscription - Microsoft Q&A
• How to Cancel Microsoft 365 subscription if you do not have account info? Or get anyone to help? - Microsoft Q&A
• Request refund - Microsoft Q&A