Microsoft Authenticator

Question

Dear support team,

All day long almost continuously I receive login requests unauthorised from all accross the world , France, Germany, USA probably VPN’s. Asking me to accept login requests on my authenticator. I deny them but they are sending more and more brute forcing. I’m afraid I miss tick and accept one. Scared they access my company, private and financial data. My authenticator is very important. How come these requests are not blocked by Microsoft. Please look into this and fix! Reddit is full of the same questions. Clearly I’m not the only one and this is a bigger problem.

Answer 1

Unrequested Microsoft Authenticator prompts mean that someone (or something automated) is repeatedly trying to sign in with the correct username but without the second factor. As long as each prompt is denied, the account remains protected and the attacker cannot complete sign-in.

When seeing prompts such as “Are you trying to sign in?” that were not initiated, the guidance is to always select Deny for any request not personally started. This is explicitly called out for Outlook mobile sign-in prompts, and the same principle applies to Authenticator-based approvals.

To reduce risk of accidentally approving one of these prompts, the following actions are recommended based on the provided guidance:

1. Always deny unrequested prompts
   Any “Are you trying to sign in?” or number-matching request that was not initiated must be denied. Without the correct response and explicit approval, the account remains safe.
2. Avoid repeated attempts
   High volumes of sign-in or verification attempts can trigger protective blocks or throttling on Microsoft’s side. If seeing repeated prompts, do not keep initiating additional sign-ins or code requests yourself, as this can contribute to a “high volume of requests” situation that may temporarily block verification methods.
3. Use alternative verification methods if available
   If a particular method is being abused or blocked, use another verification method configured on the account (for example, SMS or alternate email) when prompted to “Try another verification method,” as described in the verification-code troubleshooting guidance.
4. Network and location considerations
   Microsoft’s systems may block or challenge sign-ins when there is unusual activity or heavy compromised traffic from a region. This is by design to protect accounts. If sign-ins are being attempted from many countries, that is treated as suspicious and can lead to additional verification challenges.
5. If blocks occur
   If a block or “Try another verification method” message appears due to unusual activity or high volume of requests, the documented options are:
   • Try another verification method already configured on the account.
   • Try another network (switch between Wi‑Fi and cellular, or use a different Wi‑Fi network).
   • Wait and avoid repeated attempts for a period (from 24 hours up to several days) so that temporary protections can clear.

If this is a work or school account and the volume of malicious prompts is high, the organization’s IT/security team can further harden sign-in policies (for example, by adjusting MFA requirements or conditional access) using Microsoft’s security controls; that configuration is outside the scope of the provided documents but is the normal path in enterprise environments.

The behavior being seen (many prompts that must be denied) is consistent with Microsoft’s security model: sign-in attempts are allowed to reach the MFA challenge, but without the correct second factor and explicit approval, access is not granted.

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References:

• Using Outlook mobile to sign in
• Troubleshoot Microsoft verification code issues