Someone has hacked my email and created a forwarding rule and i cannot delete it

Celeste Patricio 15 Reputation points
2025-07-24T20:31:45.58+00:00

Someone has hacked my email and created a forwarding rule and i cannot delete it. How do i fix it? They also created a folder in my inbox that i cannot delete

Outlook | Web | Outlook.com | Email
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  1. Diane Poremsky 8,275 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-07-24T21:18:42.8766667+00:00

    What happens when you try to delete the rule?

    What is the name of the folder? What happens when you try to delete it?

    Did you change your password and if at all possible, enable 2-step verification, with at least 3 forms of verification?

    And also sign the account out everywhere and reset windows hello at the bottom of https://account.live.com/proofs/manage/additional

    You should also create a recovery code at the bottom of that page, especially if you enabled 2-step verification. Keep the code in a safe place and don't forget where it is.

    Do you have a subscription for Microsoft 365 software? If yes, add the account to classic Outlook and after it syncs, close Outlook and reopen it using the /cleanrules switch. To do this, press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog. type or paste the following into the Open field and press Enter or click OK to restart Outlook. (There is a space before /)

    outlook.exe /cleanrules

    Note: if classic Outlook is not installed, you can install it from here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/install-or-reinstall-classic-outlook-on-a-windows-pc-5c94902b-31a5-4274-abb0-b07f4661edf5

    -- Diane

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  2. Roberta Ferringer 0 Reputation points
    2025-10-03T12:30:03.0033333+00:00

    I just had this happen to me over the weekend. The hackers were able to forward my emails without me knowing and gain access to some of my online accounts when I tried to reset passwords for them. Also, they were using my email account to send massive spam emails which eventually limited me from sending any email. There was also a list set up in the Groups folder which included my email and a list of 49 other emails called Buford Beer. I have no idea what that was for. Once I removed my email from the Group, it went away. First, log out of all devices. Reset password. Set up 2 factor authentication. I discovered on Monday that there was a Rule set in my email settings that forwarded all my emails to two hacker's emails. I was able to disable and delete the rule. Also, I set up an "alias" email address to hide my hotmail address from the hackers. I've been monitoring my Sign In activity to ensure there haven't been any other sign ins that I don't recognize. The hackers managed to gather lots of info from my email, though including my driver's license which they used to submit as ID to Facebook. It was actually accepted, BUT the hackers weren't able to get the recovery codes since I had already deleted the forwarding rule. My info is out there which is scary. I hope all this helps someone. Be careful.

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