A Microsoft app for iOS and Android devices that enables authentication with two-factor verification, phone sign-in, and code generation
Clicking the button alone does not prove that your account was compromised; open Microsoft Account Security directly in a new browser tab—without using the email again—and secure the account based on whether you entered information or downloaded anything.
Check the account safely
- Manually type
https://account.microsoft.com/securityinto a new browser tab. - Sign in and select Review activity.
- Expand any unfamiliar entry and check its time, device, browser, and location—not just the country.
- If you find the Spain event:
- Select This wasn't me under Unusual activity, or
- Select Secure your account if it appears under Recent activity.
- Review your security information and ensure that no unfamiliar email address, phone number, or authentication method was added.
Microsoft’s Recent activity page covers the previous 30 days, but it does not show every account event, so the missing Spain entry does not by itself prove that the email was fake. Locations can also be inaccurate because mobile and internet traffic may be routed elsewhere.^1^
Was the email genuine?
The visible sender in the screenshot—[Email]—is the address Microsoft documents for unusual-sign-in alerts.^2^
However, a visible sender address can be spoofed, and the screenshot does not show the button’s destination or full email headers. Therefore, its appearance alone cannot confirm authenticity. Do not click the email again. Microsoft recommends signing in independently rather than following links in an uncertain message.^1^
Take the action matching what happened
- You only clicked, and did not enter a password/code, approve an Authenticator prompt, download a file, or install anything:
Close the page and delete or report the message as phishing. The click alone is not evidence that credentials were stolen. - You entered your Microsoft password, a verification code, or approved an unexpected Authenticator request:
Immediately change the Microsoft account password from Security basics, use a new password not used elsewhere, review security information, and enable two-step verification or Microsoft Authenticator.^3^
If that password was reused on Gmail or another account, change it there too. - You downloaded/opened a file or installed something:
On Windows, open Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Scan options → Full scan → Scan now. Microsoft’s compromised-account procedure recommends completing a full malware scan before changing the password.^4^ - You can no longer sign in:
On the Microsoft sign-in page, select Forgot my password, then I think someone else is using my Microsoft account, and complete account recovery.^2^
Also treat mismatched domains, subtly misspelled Microsoft names, unexpected attachments, and links whose real destination differs from their displayed text as phishing indicators.^5^
References
- What is the Recent activity page? | Microsoft Support
- What happens if there's an unusual sign-in to your account | Microsoft Support
- How to help keep your Microsoft account secure | Microsoft Support
- How to recover a hacked or compromised Microsoft account | Microsoft Support
- Protect yourself from phishing