Hacked email

Question

After being hacked I no longer receive emails even though I have changed passwords and 2 step authentication

Answer 1

Hello Pip Coyne, thanks for posting this in the community.

When an Outlook or Microsoft account is hacked, changing your password and turning on two step verification is a good first step, but it does not always fix email delivery right away. In many cases, attackers create hidden rules or change settings that redirect or block your incoming mail. This usually happens when a rule sends all new messages to Deleted Items, Junk, Archive, or another folder. To fix this, sign in at outlook.com, open Settings, search for Rules, and delete anything you did not create. After that, check the Forwarding, Blocked senders, Inbox filters, and Connected devices sections to make sure nothing is redirecting your mail. It also helps to check your Recent activity page at https://account.live.com/activity and remove any unknown sign ins to keep your account secure. Once these changes are cleaned up, new emails should arrive normally again. If messages still do not appear, give the mailbox some time to sync, or ask the sender to resend emails that may have been redirected during the hack.

Kind regards,

John Oli

Answer 2

If the account was hacked and email stopped arriving even after changing the password and enabling two-step verification, the mailbox and account settings need to be checked and the account fully secured.

1. Secure the account and devices

• Run a full antivirus/malware scan on every device used to access the account before making further changes.
• After scans complete, change the Microsoft account password again to a strong, unique password and keep two-step verification enabled.
• If using app passwords for older apps, delete any existing app passwords and create new ones.

2. Use Microsoft’s hacked-account recovery flow

• Follow the official guide for compromised Microsoft accounts: it walks through clearing malware, changing/resetting the password, and checking/resetting key account settings.
• If sign-in or recovery fails, use the Sign-in Helper tool to get the appropriate self-help or support options.

3. Check Outlook/Outlook.com mailbox settings that can block or divert mail Attackers often add rules or forwarding so messages never reach the Inbox.

In Outlook.com (web):

• Check Rules: remove any rules that delete, move, or forward messages unexpectedly.
• Check Forwarding: remove any forwarding address that is not recognized.
• Check Automatic replies: turn off any auto-replies the attacker may have set.

If using classic Outlook with an Outlook.com account:

• Ensure the account is still connected correctly and that no local rules are moving or deleting messages.

4. Check Microsoft cloud storage quota

• If the Microsoft cloud storage (OneDrive + Outlook.com) is over quota, sending and receiving email stops. Free up space or purchase more storage, then test receiving mail again.

5. If still not receiving mail

• Try sending a test message to the address from a different provider.
• If nothing arrives and all rules/forwarding/quotas are correct, continue through the hacked-account guide and, if needed, use the Sign-in Helper to reach support options.

To reduce future risk, keep MFA enforced, use strong unique passwords, and regularly review account security and mailbox rules.

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References:

• How to recover a hacked or compromised Microsoft account
• Hello , welcome to Account help & learning
• Help protect your Outlook.com email account
• Respond to a compromised cloud email account
• What to do if your email address is leaked
• I can't send or receive messages in Outlook
• Not receiving emails after my facebook account was hacked - Microsoft Q&A
• Hacker set up continuous draft ransomware email - Microsoft Q&A