My Hotmail account was hacked! I am unable to see email since the account was hacked

Question

My email account was hacked, and I ran antivirus software to eliminate all the threats however I have not received any email. How can I retrieve email from Monday 2/23/2025 until present time?

Answer 1

If the Hotmail (Outlook.com) account was hacked and no email is arriving after cleaning the device, there are two main possibilities:

1. Messages are being delivered but hidden or moved
2. Messages sent while the account was unavailable are permanently bounced and cannot be recovered

Follow these steps in Outlook.com (web):

1. Check filters and folders
   • In the Inbox, select Filter and choose All so no filter hides messages.
   • Check Archive, Junk Email, Deleted Items, and any custom folders for missing mail. Move any legitimate messages back to Inbox.
2. Check rules and forwarding
   • Go to Rules settings and review all Inbox/Sweep rules. Delete or edit any rule that moves or deletes messages unexpectedly.
   • Check Forwarding settings and remove any forwarding address that was added by the hacker so new mail is not redirected elsewhere.
3. Check recent sign-in activity and secure the account
   • Visit the Recent activity page at https://account.live.com/Activity to see if there is ongoing unauthorized access.
   • If the account was hacked, follow the guidance in How to recover a hacked or compromised Microsoft account to:
     • Ensure all devices are clean (antivirus scan already done).
     • Change the account password.
     • Review connected accounts, forwarding, and automatic replies to remove any malicious configuration.
4. Understand what cannot be recovered
   • If the Microsoft cloud storage (OneDrive + Outlook.com mailbox) was full at any point, messages sent during that time were bounced back to the sender and are unrecoverable.
   • If senders received bounce messages or if messages were never delivered to Microsoft at all (for example, blocked before reaching the mailbox), those emails from 2/23/2025 onward cannot be retrieved from the mailbox.

If, after checking filters, folders, rules, and forwarding, there are still no messages from that date range in any folder, and storage was full or messages were bounced, those specific emails cannot be restored from Microsoft’s side. In that case, ask important senders to resend any critical messages.

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References:

• Email is missing from your Outlook.com inbox
• Can't send or receive email in Outlook.com
• Help protect your Outlook.com email account
• How to recover a hacked or compromised Microsoft account
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