Fraudulent Hotmail Account

Question

My membership is receiving emails from a fraudulent hotmail account that has my name and is asking for donations to various people via The fraudulent email is being sent to the whole membership list and sent from my name. I don't have a hotmail account - how can I stop this and delete this account?

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

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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.

Answer 2

This situation is typically phishing or spoofing, where someone is sending email that only appears to come from a Hotmail/Outlook.com address using your name. Because the account is not owned or controlled, it cannot be directly deleted, but several actions can reduce impact and help protect recipients:

1. Inform the membership
   • Send a message from an official/known channel (newsletter, website, or a known email address) stating that:
     • No Hotmail/Outlook.com address belongs to you.
     • Any donation requests from that address are fraudulent.
     • Members should not reply, click links, or send money.
2. Educate recipients on phishing indicators in Outlook/Outlook.com
   • Ask members to:
     • Check for the unverified sender "?" icon and suspicious "via" tags in Outlook, which indicate the sender cannot be fully authenticated or is different from the visible From address.
     • Treat unexpected donation requests as phishing, especially if they ask for money, passwords, or other personal information.
     • Delete such messages instead of replying.
3. Have recipients report and block the messages
   • In Outlook/Outlook.com, members can:
     • Mark the message as junk or phishing so Outlook’s filters learn and start routing similar messages to Junk Email.
     • Block the specific sending address if it is consistent, which helps prevent further messages from that address reaching their inbox.
4. Encourage general anti‑phishing practices
   • Remind members:
     • Never send personal or financial information in response to email requests.
     • Verify any donation or payment request through a trusted, independent channel (official website, known phone number, or in‑person) rather than using contact details in the suspicious email.
5. If any member’s Outlook.com account appears compromised
   • If someone in the membership sees signs that their own Outlook.com account is sending similar messages, they should follow the guidance in "Help protect your Outlook.com email account" and, if needed, "My Outlook.com account has been hacked" (linked from that article) to secure their account, change passwords, and review rules/forwarding.

Because the fraudulent Hotmail account is controlled by the attacker, only the provider (Microsoft) can disable it, and that is handled through internal abuse/phishing detection and user reports rather than direct deletion by a third party. Consistent reporting as junk/phishing and clear communication to the membership are the primary controls available.

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References:

• Phishing and suspicious behavior in Outlook
• Help protect your Outlook.com email account
• 10 tips on how to help reduce spam