Azure Monitor ALERT!

Question

I received this e-mail from Microsoft Outlook. I did not authorize this transaction with this unknown company. Please reject and list this as an attempted fraud. Please advise me what to do next.

Azure: Activated Severity: 2 receipt-203356599

 

Error details

Session ID<PII removed>

Resource group name

Subscription ID

Resource ID

Error code

401

Answer 1

Hello Joe Berumen, it sounds like you received an unexpected Azure Monitor alert email that you didn’t set up and you’re right to treat it with caution. Here’s how to proceed:

1. Don’t click any links or download attachments • If you suspect it’s phishing, avoid using links in the email. • Instead, open a new browser window and go directly to portal.azure.com.
2. Verify the alert in the Azure portal • Sign in to portal.azure.com with your Azure account. • Navigate to Monitor > Alerts > Alert history and look for the alert with receipt-203356599 or the matching Session ID. • Check which resource group, subscription ID, and resource generated the alert.
3. Confirm whether an alert rule exists or was modified • In Alerts > Alert rules, search for any rule tied to a 401 error code or “Azure: Activated Severity: 2.” • If you don’t recognize the rule, that’s a red flag—delete or disable it.
4. Review who has access to your subscription • Go to Subscriptions > [your subscription] > Access control (IAM). • Ensure only authorized users or service principals can create or modify alert rules.
5. If you still believe it’s fraudulent • Forward the email (including full headers) to Microsoft’s Report Phishing service. • Open a support request through the Azure portal to investigate any unauthorized configuration changes.

References

• Troubleshoot log alerts that didn’t fire or were disabled

• How to manage log alerts from the portal

• Azure Monitor metric alerts overview

• Best practices for Azure Monitor alerts

Hope this helps you confirm whether the alert is legitimate and take the right next steps!

Answer 2

Hi ,

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

 

This looks like a phishing or scam alert email, not a genuine Azure billing or security notification. Attackers often send fake “Azure Monitor” or subs alerts to scare you into clicking links or sharing credentials. A real alert from Microsoft will never ask you to confirm transactions or credentials through random email links.

do not click any links or download attachments, mark the email as phishing in Outlook, check your Azure portal directly (not via the email) to confirm there is no new resource or charge, review sign-in logs for suspicious activity, and enable MFA if it is not already on. If anything looks unusual in your Azure account, rotate passwords and revoke active sessions.

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