Emails hacked and corrupted

Question

A hacker has accessed my outlook email account and overlaid their hacking message over all my emails existing at the time of hacking. I can no longer read the original emails - they simply have the hacker message demanding money. I have changed password and checked all my security settings. Since doing this my emails received subsequent to the hacking are normal but the previous ones remain with the hackers message overlaid on them. What can I do to remove the hackers message from my emails?

Answer 1

Hi, I'm John!

This is a phishing attempt. Please don’t click on any links or respond to the message. Scammers often use these tactics to trick people into giving away personal information or money.

About the persistent draft being credited:

If you haven't tried anything yet, please start by running a full antivirus scan on your computer using Windows Security and any third-party antivirus software you have.

Run a full deep scan using a trusted security tool:

• Download and run Microsoft Safety Scanner here: https://learn.microsoft.com/defender-endpoint/safety-scanner-download
• After running the scan, please restart your PC and monitor whether the issue continues.

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To be safe, I recommend the following steps:

Check your account rules and forwarding settings, hackers create rules that automatically forward or delete emails. You can do this in Outlook settings under Mail > Rules and Forwarding. https://support.microsoft.com/office/manage-email-messages-by-using-rules-in-outlook-c24f5dea-9465-4df4-ad17-a50704d66c59

Just to be safe, I’d recommend to sign out everywhere. Visit: https://account.live.com/proofs/manage/additional Scroll down to Sign me out and select "Sign me out".

• After signing out everywhere, please monitor if the issue persists in the coming hours.

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"How to help keep your Microsoft account secure" https://support.microsoft.com/account-billing/how-to-help-keep-your-microsoft-account-secure-628538c2-7006-33bb-5ef4-c917657362b9

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

Regards,

John J.D.