I've lost my Inbox emails in my Hotmail account

Question

My hotmail account was hacked and I've lost all emails in my inbox going back 20-odd years. All emails in folders and Sent Items are still there.

I immediately changed the password on the account, made sure there were no rules or additional folders being setup where they could have been hidden, etc so how can I recover these emails?

Incident was Friday 13th Feb 2026 (bad luck for me)

Thanks

Answer 1

Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

Since your account was compromised/hack, it’s possible the attacker deleted or moved your old emails.

Please check your Deleted Items folder and click “Recover items deleted from this folder” at the bottom, sometimes older messages can still be restored from there. Also check your Archive or Junk Email folders. "Recover and restore deleted items in Outlook" https://support.microsoft.com/office/recover-and-restore-deleted-items-in-outlook-49e81f3c-c8f4-4426-a0b9-c0fd751d48ce

If the emails don’t appear under “Recover items deleted from this folder,” it means they’ve been permanently removed from the mailbox and unfortunately can’t be recovered.

To prevent this from happening again, I recommend turning on two-step verification and reviewing your recent activity page to make sure your account is fully secure. "How to help keep your Microsoft account secure" https://support.microsoft.com/account-billing/how-to-help-keep-your-microsoft-account-secure-628538c2-7006-33bb-5ef4-c917657362b9

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Let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Answer 2

To recover your lost emails in your Hotmail account, follow these steps:

1. Check the Deleted Items Folder: Sometimes, emails can be accidentally deleted and may still be in the Deleted Items folder. Check there first.
2. Recover Deleted Emails: If you find that emails are missing from your Deleted Items folder, you can try to recover them. In Outlook, go to the Deleted Items folder, and look for an option that says "Recover Deleted Items". This feature allows you to restore emails that were deleted within the last 30 days.
3. Check for Rules or Filters: Since you mentioned that you have already checked for rules, ensure that there are no filters that might be hiding your emails. Go to Settings > Mail > Rules and check if any rules are moving emails to other folders.
4. Contact Microsoft Support: If the above steps do not help, consider reaching out to Microsoft Support. They may have additional tools or options to assist you in recovering your lost emails, especially if the account was compromised.
5. Monitor Account Activity: Keep an eye on your account for any suspicious activity or changes that might indicate ongoing issues with security.

It's essential to act quickly, as the ability to recover deleted emails may have time limits depending on your account settings.

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References:

• Respond to a compromised cloud email account