My email

Question

I’ve had loads of emails from people saying that I’ve hacked into their account,I’ve no idea what’s going on or how this has happened but I’m now getting abusive and threatening emails from people I don’t even know,I’m at my wits end
Please can you help me
I’ve been using my hotmail email address for the last 30yrs

Answer 1

Hello sjw_273

Hi, I'm Karl and will be happy to help you today.

>>

I’ve had loads of emails from people saying that I’ve hacked into their account,

<<

Would really need more information about what is actually meant by "I've hacked into their account". If that is what is actually stated in the messages you are getting, would really need to know how they would know it was your email address that hacked into the account - that's not something any user would normally be able to determine even it was true.

Just going by the description, it sounds like your email address was hijacked and the <From> address was spoofed to make it look like it was coming from wherever they want.

The following is a standard reply I give to those who ask about a sudden increase in <spam> and <unexpected> log in attempts which you may find of interest in why you are suddenly getting these messages

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The usual source of a sudden increase in failed login attempts or spam mail received is that the email address was harvested by a hacker who breached a data base on a website where you subscribed to something. That database gets repeatedly sold to other hackers/spammers on the dark web.

Many people think that hackers penetrate the actual Microsoft servers to gain access to email accounts when that isn't the case. Instead they gain access to an actual account via any number of other ways including phishing emails.

You can check to see if the email address comes up on a breached database on the following website created/run by Microsoft MVP Troy Hunt.

https://haveibeenpwned.com/

Pwned websites

https://haveibeenpwned.com/PwnedWebsites#Epik

Other articles that may be of interest

The 773 Million Record "Collection #1" Data Breach

https://www.troyhunt.com/the-773-million-record...

How Do Spammers Get My Email Address?

https://www.lifewire.com/how-do-spammers-get-my...

Protect your privacy on the internet

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/409145...

*** if you find that the email address was on a breached website where a password was also entered, what you really do want to do is make sure that the same email address/password combination is NOT being used on other sites (i.e. Social Media, Facebook, Paypal, Amazon etc) and if that password is still the one being used on your email account - make sure to change it immediately. Not a question of <IF> a hacker will test those account(s) - just a matter of <WHEN>

Required Forum Disclaimer: The above links is a non-Microsoft website. The pages appear to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

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Just so there is no misunderstanding, this is a public user-to-user support forum. We're users just like you helping other users. We do not work for Microsoft and have no access to any user account so there is nothing we can do or check from within the forum. Microsoft Support personnel do not staff this forum.

Answer 2

>>

I just tried the first thing my email using that link and there is 2 unidentified email addresses showing which don’t belong to me,how do I get rid of these

<<

Unfortunately, I hate to say this but you can't. Your email address has been associated with those email addresses by someone, either by mistake or intentionally.

Really don't see what benefit there would be for a hacker to add your email address to someone else's account

Would certainly check the activity on your account to see if there have been any successful log ins to your account and if there are, change your password immediately

https://account.live.com/Activity

While you're at it, if you were hacked, would suggest checking to see if any <Inbox. rules were created that you're not aware of

Use inbox rules in Outlook.com

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/use-in...

This link will bring you to the <Inbox> rules

https://outlook.live.com/mail/0/options/mail/rules

I know I keep saying this but this all sounds really bizarre and can't wrap my head around as to what the endgame would be in all of this. Would be absolutely no purpose for a hacker to add your email address to someone else's email account

Answer 3

Karl

I just tried the first thing my email using that link and there is 2 unidentified email addresses showing which don’t belong to me,how do I get rid of these

Answer 4

Something about those messages just don't make sense but don't for a second doubt that you are getting them.

Two things I'd be curious about

#1 - If you were to enter your email address using the following link, do you see any email addresses that you don't recognize (only the first 2 characters of the <username> will be displayed). That list will indicate how email accounts your email address is associated with

https://account.live.com/username/recover

#2 - If you look at the message header for some of these messages, do they show that the actual sender is what is showing in the <From> address? Is there anything in common with these messages

To view the message headers,

#1 - select a message,

#2 - click on the 3 horizontal dots on same line as the <Subject> if doing this within the <Reading Pane>

#3 - select <View>

#4 - Click on <View Message Source>

Answer 5

Karl

Thanks for getting back to,all the things you said do I have already done,I’m still at a loss as to know why so many people are emailing me on my hotmail account saying things like for example “Who are you and why is your email address on my account?” and “stop tampering with my account” and they are the polite ones,most of them are threatening me and reporting me to microsoft,fbi,police etc,not sure what else to do apart from closing it down completely which will be a nuisance as I’ve a lot of things attached to this email address