Trying to recover a hacked account but it says it doesn't recognise my email?

If the recovery process rejects the address as nonexistent, use the contact-support option under “If you still see ‘We couldn't find an account with that username’” and tell the advocate that the username for a compromised Outlook.com account has stopped working.^1^

Before escalating

Check only these address-specific possibilities:

• Verify the complete domain, especially .com versus a country-specific domain such as .co.uk.
• Check the spelling of the part before @.
• If the account had another alias, telephone number, or Skype name, enter that identifier instead. Microsoft explicitly recommends another alias or phone number when the original email is not recognized.^1^

If none is accepted, continue to the contact-support option in that article rather than repeatedly submitting the same rejected address. Microsoft’s compromised-account guidance says its sign-in tool can either provide the appropriate self-help route or offer an opportunity to speak to an agent.^2^

Being allowed to enter a password does not establish that the recovery service still associates the original address with an account. In a compromise, the original sign-in alias may have been removed or changed, but the error alone does not confirm that this happened.

What support can and cannot do

Give the support advocate:

• The original Outlook/Hotmail address.
• The exact error message.
• The approximate time access stopped.
• Any Microsoft security notifications about password or account-information changes.
• Other aliases, phone numbers, Skype names, previous passwords, or purchase details associated with the account.

Support can guide the applicable recovery route, but Microsoft states that agents cannot send password-reset links or directly access and change account details. If two-step verification was enabled and none of its verification methods remain accessible, the standard recovery form cannot restore access.^3^

If Microsoft restores access, first run a full malware scan on the devices used with the account, then change the password and review connected accounts, forwarding, and automatic replies for unauthorized changes.^2^

References

1. My username and password have stopped working | Microsoft Support
2. How to recover a hacked or compromised Microsoft account | Microsoft Support
3. Help with the Microsoft account recovery form | Microsoft Support