I am being impersonated by someone using an outlook email

Question

i am being impersonated by someone using an outlook email.

can outlook force her to log off from using this email ******@hotmail.co.uk ?

i am the owner of my email and now i am scared to use it . cant work as i have to log in for it , but im scared. please help

Answer 1

Hi, I'm John!

If the email address isn’t yours but appears to be using your name, and it’s a Microsoft account, unfortunately, Microsoft can’t disclose or take action on accounts unless you're the owner.

However, if you believe it’s being used for impersonation or suspicious activity, you can report it through Microsoft’s abuse reporting steps here: https://sendersupport.olc.protection.outlook.com/pm/policies

The email address is "abuse @outlook.com" it contains space before @ because email addresses are blocked here.

If you’ve received emails from that account or seen it used somewhere, include any details you can when submitting the form, it helps the investigation.

You can use this form: https://www.microsoft.com/concern/scam

I really hope this information is helpful! Let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Regards,

John J.D.

Answer 2

Outlook and Microsoft support cannot forcibly sign another person out of an account that is not verified as compromised or not owned. What can be done is:

1. If the Hotmail account in question is actually owned and controlled, follow the hacked/compromised-account process:
   • Run a full antivirus/malware scan on all devices used to sign in, as described in the hacked-account guidance.
   • Then go to the Microsoft account security page and change the password to a strong, unique one.
   • Turn on two-step verification (Microsoft Authenticator or SMS) to protect future sign-ins.
   • Review and fix security settings: connected accounts, forwarding, and automatic replies to remove anything the impersonator may have set up.
2. If access to the real account has already been lost (cannot sign in or security info has been changed), use the official recovery tools:
   • Use the Sign-in Helper / account recovery flow to try to regain access to the Microsoft account and Outlook.com mailbox.
   • If the account is blocked due to unusual activity, use the “Unblock my Outlook.com account” process via the Sign-in Helper.
3. If someone is impersonating using a different Outlook/Hotmail address (for example, a similar-looking address, not actually owned), that account cannot be taken over. In that case:
   • Treat any messages from that address as phishing or abuse and report them in Outlook as junk/phishing.
   • If the impersonation involves scams, extortion, or threats, report it to local law enforcement and, if it is a tech-support or Microsoft-related scam, report it to Microsoft via the tech support scam reporting page.
4. To get direct assistance from Microsoft for a consumer Outlook.com account:
   • Sign in to Outlook.com in a browser, select Help on the menu bar, describe the problem, then scroll to Still need help? and choose to chat with a support agent if offered.

If there is any indication the Microsoft account itself was hacked (unexpected drafts, rules, or sign-ins), follow the hacked-account recovery steps and do not continue using the account for work until the password, security info, and device security have all been cleaned up.

---

References:

• Phishing and suspicious behavior in Outlook
• How to recover a hacked or compromised Microsoft account
• Unblock my Outlook.com account
• Help protect your Outlook.com email account
• I think I'm being scammed, but I want to make sure. (Though I may be in the wrong place.) - Microsoft Q&A
• My personal hotmail account hacked by hacker with authentication app enabled. - Microsoft Q&A
• Need to speak to a agent I am getting pop up draft scam emails - Microsoft Q&A
• Hacker set up continuous draft ransomware email - Microsoft Q&A