my email outlook sending out scam invitations from my account

Herb Motley 0 Reputation points
2026-10-03T20:12:20.5133333+00:00

friends have received phony dinner invitations from my outlook email account.

email has stopped receiving emails

Outlook | Web | Outlook.com | Account management, security, and privacy
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  1. Hornblower409 16,555 Reputation points
    2026-10-04T23:36:57.1133333+00:00

    @Herb Motley said

    friends have received phony dinner invitations from my outlook email account ... email has stopped receiving emails

    You account has been hacked. Take immediate steps to secure any financial accounts that use this email for verification or authentication. Then:

    If you still have access to your account (you can logon at https://outlook.cloud.microsoft/):

    If you can not logon to your account:

    Start with the Account Sign-In Helper and follow any suggestions it offers.

    • In a Private/Incognito browser session, open: https://aka.ms/sign-in-helper
    • Scroll down to "Choose how you normally sign in, then enter your details"
    • Click "With an email address"
    • Enter your email address and click [OK]

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  2. AI answer

    2026-10-03T20:12:36.58+00:00

    This usually means the account was compromised and mailbox settings may also have been changed. Use this order:

    1. Secure the Microsoft account
      • Change the password.
      • Review recent sign-in activity.
      • Use Sign out everywhere.
      • Turn on two-step verification.
      • If Microsoft flagged unusual sign-in activity, the account may be temporarily blocked and may need to be unblocked.
    2. Check Outlook.com for hidden mail redirection
      • Open Outlook.com.
      • Check Settings > Mail > Rules and delete any rule that was not created intentionally.
      • Check whether email forwarding is enabled and turn it off if it was not set intentionally. Attackers often create rules that move, delete, or forward incoming mail.
    3. Check where incoming mail is going
      • Check Junk Email and move valid messages back by right-clicking and choosing Mark as not junk.
      • Check Deleted Items.
      • Check the Other tab.
      • Make sure messages are sorted by Filter > Sort > Date.
    4. Check blocked sender behavior and spoofing
      • If messages from certain people still do not arrive, review Junk Email settings and the blocked senders list.
      • Some scam mail uses a spoofed address. Outlook.com can mark suspicious senders as unverified.
      • If unwanted mail keeps appearing from a blocked sender, view the internet message headers to find the real sender address and block that address instead.
    5. Check storage
      • If Microsoft cloud storage is full, Outlook.com cannot send or receive email.
      • Messages sent while storage was full are bounced back to the sender and are unrecoverable.
    6. If mail still does not arrive
      • If a specific sender cannot reach the mailbox, ask them to check Sender Support in Outlook.com.
      • If the issue started after suspicious activity and continues after the steps above, use Outlook.com support from Help in Outlook.com and select Still need help?

    Also treat any unexpected “credential needed” or verification email carefully. Phishing messages can appear to come from trusted senders. Do not open suspicious links or attachments.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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