Someone from Canada tries signing into my Microsoft account daily

Question

Every day I get a notification on my Microsoft app someone is trying to sign into my account. How do I get it to stop? I’ve tried changing password and it doesn’t do anything.

Answer 1

Hi Tate,

This usually means someone knows your Microsoft account sign-in email address and is repeatedly trying to sign in. Changing the password is important, but it won’t stop the attempts if they keep trying the same email address. 

Please do these steps: 

1. Do not approve any sign-in prompt you don’t recognize. 
2. Go to Microsoft’s security page and review recent activity: https://account.microsoft.com/security 
3. Selecting Review activity and marking anything suspicious as “This wasn’t me” or “Secure your account.” 
4. Make sure two-step verification / Microsoft Authenticator is enabled, and remove any recovery emails, phone numbers, devices, or apps you don’t recognize. 
5. To actually reduce or stop the daily attempts, create a new alias for the account, then block the old email address from being used to sign in. Microsoft says account aliases share the same inbox/settings, and you can choose which aliases are allowed to sign in. 
   • Go to: https://account.microsoft.com/ 
   • Select Your info 
   • Go to Sign-in preferences 
   • Add a new alias if needed 
   • Allow sign-in only for the new/private alias 
   • Save changes. Microsoft’s “Block an email address from signing in” guidance confirms you can restrict which aliases can be used to sign in. 

*Please note: Don’t delete your old Outlook/Hotmail/Live/Microsoft email alias unless you’re sure, because removing a Microsoft-domain alias permanently deletes it and it can’t be associated with any Microsoft account again. *

You may find further guidance here: 

• What happens if there's an unusual sign-in to your account 
• Add or remove an email alias in Outlook.com 
• Block an email address from signing in 

In short: changing the password protects the account, but changing/blocking the sign-in alias is usually what stops the repeated login attempts. 

I hope this information is useful. Additionally, as other users have raised similar concerns and may not be aware of where to share their feedback, I hope this response helps clarify the situation and suggests a potential next step. Highlighting this information can make it more visible to others in the community who may be facing the same issue, making it easier for them to find guidance and contribute their feedback as well. 

Thank you again for your time and for raising this important usability concern. If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out. 

I look forward to your thoughts on this. 

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Answer 2

Daily sign-in prompts like this are usually automated bots repeatedly trying known username/password combinations (credential stuffing). Changing the password alone doesn’t stop the attempts, but there are ways to reduce or stop the prompts and keep the account safe.

1. Confirm the account is still secure
   • Keep multi-factor authentication (MFA) enabled (Microsoft Authenticator, SMS, etc.). As long as these prompts are denied, the attacker cannot sign in.
   • Review recent sign-ins for anything that was actually successful:
     • For a personal Microsoft account, go to the Recent activity page to see sign-ins from the last 30 days and secure the account if anything looks unfamiliar.
2. Change the primary sign-in alias (most effective way to stop prompts) The bots are targeting the current sign-in email. Changing the primary alias makes those attempts fail before they can trigger MFA prompts. For a personal Microsoft account:
   1. Go to the Microsoft account page: https://account.live.com.
   2. Sign in, then go to Your info → Sign-in preference (or Manage how you sign in).
   3. Add an alias:
      • Create new: create a new Outlook.com address as an alias, or
      • Add existing: add another email address (e.g., from another provider) that isn’t already tied to a Microsoft account.
   4. After adding it, set this new alias as the primary alias.
   5. Open Change sign in preference and uncheck the box for the old alias so it can no longer be used to sign in.
      • Do not delete the old alias; it can still receive email, but it won’t work as a sign-in name.
   For a work or school (Entra ID) account:
   • The username must be changed by an admin in the Microsoft Entra admin portal (https://entra.microsoft.com). The admin can change the UPN (sign-in name) to a new address, then update users and systems that rely on the old one.
3. Keep security settings up to date
   • Ensure a strong, unique password is in place and not reused on other sites.
   • Keep MFA enabled and do not approve any prompts that were not initiated.
   • Optionally, generate and safely store an account recovery code (for personal accounts) from the security page, so the account can be recovered quickly if it is ever compromised.

Once the primary alias is changed and the old one is disabled for sign-in, the bots will continue trying the old address, but it will no longer trigger sign-in or MFA prompts, and the account remains protected.

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References:

• Check the recent sign-in activity for your Microsoft account
• How to recover a hacked or compromised Microsoft account
• Someone trying to access my account - Microsoft Q&A
• How to block badactors who trying to hack my account? - Microsoft Q&A
• People keep trying to hack me - Microsoft Q&A
• Authenticator App Notifications - Microsoft Q&A
• What happens if there's an unusual sign-in to your account