Attempted log in

Question

I seem to be getting attempted log ins into my Outlook email. All I am being told is that they are attempting to log in from the United States. When I go onto the Authenticator app it gives me no details after I say it wasn’t me and the notification clears is their a way to get an IP address to find out where this attempt is coming from

Answer 1

Hello

There's no way for Microsoft to prevent anyone from attempting to log into your account, but Microsoft's security system should work to prevent it from successfully logging into your account. Just like there are no security systems available to prevent anyone from knocking at your door or ringing your doorbell, a security system can prevent them from breaking in successfully.

And no, Microsoft cannot disclose the IP address. That will require law enforcement request via legal process.

Also, if you are getting a lot of attempts, it can be due to your email address being exposed publicly. due to data breach by any business you dealt with. In this case, hackers don't necessarily know your password. They just know your email address, and use the "forgot password" option to hopefully to reset your password. When they click on "forgot password", it will trigger a 2FA ask. Your account is safe and not compromised.

If you want to stop this completely, do this:

Go to your Microsoft account online https://account.live.com> Sign in > Your info > Sign in preference. Add an alias - You have two options here: Create new: this will allow you to use the native domain outlook.com to create a new alias. Add existing: this will allow you to add a 3rd party email address, such as yahoo, gmail, as long as they are not already associated with another Microsoft account. Once added, make this new alias your primary alias, do NOT delete the old alias. Then at the bottom, click on "Change sign in preference". On the next page, uncheck the box for the old alias. This means, from now one, the old alias cannot be used to sign into your Microsoft account, but it can be still used to receive emails, etc.