Emails are being delivered to my home email address

Question

We believe our email was hacked and phishing emails were being sent from our home email. We changed the password and now no emails are being delivered to our home address. Our computer has Microsoft 10 on it and is so old that it says it does not support Microsoft 11. How can we fix this?

Answer 1

Hello,

Make sure you do this on a computer, not on smartphone or tablet. Go to https://www.outlook.com and log in, click on the gear icon on the top right to launch the settings.

Then, on the Mail tab, go to Rules. Are there any rules set up here? If yes, delete them all.

Then check the conditional format, again, if it's there, delete it.

Then, check Forwarding and IMAP, If any items are present, delete them as well.

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If you can't find anything, go to https://account.live.com > Your info > Sign in Preferences. Make sure to check all the aliases here. If you don't recognize any there, delete it.

Then go to Security > Manage How I sign in, make sure all contact info is yours. Then scroll down on the same page, look under App Password, click on remove existing app passwords as well.

Please make sure you change your password and enable two-step verficiation.

Go to your account online, go to Devices, remove any devices you don't recognize.

Then go to Security, click on Sign out everywhere. This is meant to kill any session that's still connected. Unfortunately, this one will take 24 hours to take effect.

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In addition, this can be due to a malicious script running on your device. Are you using Windows device to check emails? Do you use any email app, such as Outlook Classic or New Outlook? Please go to the app, remove the account from settings.

Then go here: https://learn.microsoft.com/defender-endpoint/safety-scanner-download

Download and run the 64 bit scanner, run a full scan. Tell me what the final results are.

Answer 2

Follow these steps in order on the affected PC and account.

1. Secure the account and devices

• Run a full antivirus/malware scan on the Windows 10 PC using an up-to-date antivirus. If using Windows Security/Defender, ensure it is updated and run a full scan before changing anything else.
• If any threats are found, clean/quarantine them and reboot, then run another scan.
• After scans are clean, change the email account password again from the provider’s website and make it strong and unique.

2. Check for account compromise and recent activity (if Outlook.com/Microsoft account)

• Go to the recent activity page at https://account.live.com/activity and review sign-ins and security events.
• If any unfamiliar activity appears, mark it as “This wasn’t me” and follow the prompts.
• Add or confirm alternate email and mobile number as security info so the account can be recovered more easily if compromised again.

3. Fix “no emails being delivered” – check junk, rules, blocked senders, and forwarding If using Outlook.com/Outlook on the web:

• Sign in to Outlook.com.
• Select Settings > Mail or Options.
• Check Junk / Blocked senders:
  • Go to Blocked Senders or Block and allow.
  • If the home address or its domain is listed, remove it.
• Check Rules (Inbox rules):
  • Delete any suspicious rules that move or delete messages automatically.
• Check Forwarding:
  • Make sure mail is not being forwarded to an attacker’s address. Turn off forwarding or remove unknown addresses.

If using Outlook 2016/classic Outlook on the PC:

• On the Home tab, select Junk > Junk Email Options.
• Open the Blocked Senders tab and remove the home address or domain if present.
• Check Rules (Home > Rules > Manage Rules & Alerts) and delete any rules that move or delete all incoming mail or send copies elsewhere.

4. Fix sync or send/receive issues in Outlook on Windows 10 If using the Mail app or Outlook and no messages appear:

• If a banner says the account settings are out of date, select Fix account and enter the new password.
• If there is a certificate error, open account settings and under Advanced mailbox settings ensure the correct servers are set and Require SSL for incoming email and Require SSL for outgoing email are checked, then save.
• In classic Outlook, if mail still does not send/receive:
  • Confirm the new password is set for the account.
  • If antivirus scans email, temporarily disable email scanning or consult the antivirus help desk, as it can block mail.
  • If problems persist, repair Outlook (Control Panel > Programs > Office > Change > Repair) and, if needed, repair or recreate the Outlook profile following the guidance in the Outlook troubleshooting article.

5. If messages from others still do not arrive

• Ask a trusted sender to email the home address and confirm whether they receive any bounce or error.
• If using Outlook.com and still not receiving from specific senders, ask them to contact Microsoft via the Outlook.com sender support form referenced in the sender support article.

6. Ongoing protection

• Keep Windows 10 fully updated.
• Keep antivirus enabled and updated.
• Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) on the email account if the provider supports it.
• Regularly review recent activity and security info on the account.

Windows 10 being too old to upgrade to Windows 11 does not by itself stop email delivery; the key is cleaning malware, fixing account rules/blocked senders/forwarding, and updating passwords and sync settings.

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References:

• Help protect your Outlook.com email account
• How to recover a hacked or compromised Microsoft account
• Where are my email messages or calendar events in Mail and Calendar for Windows 10?
• I can't send or receive messages in Outlook
• Resolve sync issues in Mail and Calendar apps in Windows 10
• What to do if your email address is leaked
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