Sending, receiving, and organizing email in Outlook.com
The behavior described is consistent with phishing or junk mail activity in Outlook.com. To clean it up and protect the account, follow these steps in Outlook on the web (Outlook.com):
- Stop interacting with the messages
- Do not click any links or open any attachments in these emails.
- If any message looks like it is asking to “verify,” “upgrade,” or “fix” the mailbox, treat it as phishing.
- Mark the messages as junk or phishing
- In the message list, select one of the “@ quickmail check bot” emails.
- Use the Junk/Phishing option in Outlook.com to report it (for example, right‑click the message and choose Junk or Phishing, depending on what is available in the interface). This helps move similar messages to Junk and improves filtering.
- Block the sender
- Select one of the unwanted messages.
- Use the Block option (often under the Junk menu) to add that address/domain to the blocked senders list so future messages go directly to Junk.
- You can also manage this under Settings → Mail → Junk email and add the address/domain to Blocked senders.
- Check for suspicious rules and forwarding If the inbox is “taken over” (messages moving or appearing unexpectedly), check for mailbox rules and forwarding that might have been created by an attacker:
- In Outlook on the web, go to Settings → Mail → Rules and delete any rules that move or create messages you did not set up.
- Go to Settings → Mail → Forwarding and remove any forwarding address that is not recognized.
- Secure the Microsoft account If there is any suspicion the account was compromised:
- Change the Microsoft account password immediately.
- Turn on two‑step verification (multi‑factor authentication).
- Review recent sign‑in activity from the Microsoft account security page and sign out of sessions that are not recognized.
- Use safe and blocked senders lists
- Add trusted contacts to the Safe senders list so their mail goes to Inbox.
- Keep the unwanted “bot” addresses in the Blocked senders list so they are routed to Junk automatically. See “Add senders to safe and blocked senders lists” in the referenced article for details.
- Stay alert for phishing signs
- Look carefully at the sender’s actual email address and any urgent requests.
- Never open unexpected links or attachments; instead, go directly to the organization’s official website using a saved favorite or by typing the address.
If the problem persists after these steps or if there is clear evidence of account takeover (password‑change emails not requested, missing mail, etc.), follow Microsoft’s hacked‑account recovery guidance and contact Microsoft support via the official support channels.
References:
- Phishing and suspicious behavior in Outlook
- Protect yourself from phishing
- Protect yourself from online scams and attacks
- Help protect your Outlook.com email account
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