Microsoft Says Someone Changed My Profile Information

Your recommendation of two-step verification is spot-on and it doesn't need to be very intrusive if you designate your devices as trusted devices at the point when you enter the verification code.  If you use InPrivate Browsing, you'll always need to verify with a code, but most people don't, so the trusted device selection works well.

I think Microsoft's checking is completely automated and once the algorithms were programmed, the product team hasn't given it much thought since; a "set it and forget it" situation.  If you stay within the algorithm's proscribed boundaries, things work quite well, but if you inadvertently stray outside of them, you can wind up in security soup with catch-22s everywhere, where you need "A" to produce "B", but you need to use "B" to generate "A".

So, 4 or 5 moderators have chimed in and they still just don't get it. When I started this thread I was really concerned. But I checked my account thoroughly, changed my password, and activated two-step verification.* So I feel safe, despite having received this "alert" from Microsoft again.

The REAL issue has now become these BOGUS alerts from Microsoft sending everyone into unwarranted panic and NOT getting any real straight answers from moderators...just canned responses. It's apparent from reading through this thread that NOBODY has hacked their way into our accounts and NOTHING has changed in our information. BUT we're STILL getting these Microsoft alerts.

SteveM26 already got confirmation that nothing is wrong. ("...have a nice day!" HA!) So the important issue now is for Microsoft moderators and higher-ups to address the REAL problem: these bogus "alerts" and what triggering them. They need to take responsibility and fix this.

*I highly recommend everybody activate two-step verification. It means a little extra time getting into your account. But the security it offers more than makes up for the inconvenience.

pkb

Hi Steve,

I realize the importance of your concern and appreciate your efforts in bringing the issue to our attention.

I understand that you wish to know what is triggering the messages stating that your profile information has been changed and if this is a real security.

Based on your issue description and the information that you have provided, it needs to be addressed directly by posting to our **Private Support via Secure Messaging** as the channel you have reached specialized on Outlook.com issues. Microsoft Account support has the tools and resources that would allow them to do more than what we can do here on our end. I will try to address your concerns with the best of my knowledge, though.

"What is triggering this message/es?"

The answer lies on the message itself. Profile info such as your name, birth date, or country/region was changed on your Microsoft account.  

"Is there is any real security concern?"

Your profile information defines you and your account's identity. If someone managed to change it without your knowledge, it means that they have access to your information and it can be misused or the intention--at the first place--is to misuse it.

"It is a server-side issue that seems to be internal to Microsoft's network."

At the moment, there is no such information cascaded to us that would support this statement. It would be best if you contact our Microsoft Account Support for further assistance.

Should you have other questions, clarifications or any other concerns, please let us know and we will be happy to further assist you.

Regards,

Jeffrey

Again, you do not seem to understand the problem.

I have already raised this via "Private Support via Secure Messaging" as I previously mentioned.  They were unable to help or explain why this was happening.  I will continue to try but since I am not alone in this issue, I felt it would be most productive to share my progress with others experiencing the same issue.

**"The answer lies on the message itself. Profile info such as your name, birth date, or country/region was changed on your Microsoft account."...**I already said, that this information has NOT been changed.

**"It is a server-side issue that seems to be internal to Microsoft's network."...At the moment, there is no such information cascaded to us that would support this statement....**As I mentioned, the IP addresses that are triggering these messages are from inside Microsoft's datacenter.  The emails are effectively stating that one or more machines internal to Microsoft's network are triggering access alerts.  I would say this does support this statement.

Hi Steve,

I realize the importance of your concern and appreciate your efforts in bringing the issue to our attention.

I understand that you wish to know what is triggering the messages stating that your profile information has been changed and if this is a real security.

Based on your issue description and the information that you have provided, it needs to be addressed directly by posting to our **Private Support via Secure Messaging** as the channel you have reached specialized on Outlook.com issues. Microsoft Account support has the tools and resources that would allow them to do more than what we can do here on our end. I will try to address your concerns with the best of my knowledge, though.

"What is triggering this message/es?"

The answer lies on the message itself. Profile info such as your name, birth date, or country/region was changed on your Microsoft account.  

"Is there is any real security concern?"

Your profile information defines you and your account's identity. If someone managed to change it without your knowledge, it means that they have access to your information and it can be misused or the intention--at the first place--is to misuse it.

"It is a server-side issue that seems to be internal to Microsoft's network."

At the moment, there is no such information cascaded to us that would support this statement. It would be best if you contact our Microsoft Account Support for further assistance.

Should you have other questions, clarifications or any other concerns, please let us know and we will be happy to further assist you.

Regards,

Jeffrey

Hi SteveM26,

I'm glad to help you with this.

It seems that you're still getting some spam/phishing emails to your account. Am I right? To give you the basic information on how to prevent from receiving this, you can check the following article below:

How to recognize if the email I have received is genuine or spam/ phishing?

How do I report Abuse or Spam in Hotmail?

However, if you feel that your account is hacked, we advise that you check and clean your computer from malware/spyware, then change your password and update your account credentials. 

For us to further investigate your account again, please use this link. This is way, we ask other personal information like the affected account without posting here in public forum.

Hopefully this will resolve the issue. If not, please let us know so we can assist you further.

Thanks,

Christina

Thanks, but you don't seem to understand.  There hasn't been any mention of spam or phishing emails and no I haven't received any such thing.  I am quite sure my account hasn't been hacked either.  I have already 'resecured' my account as a precaution.  I have already raised the issue privately as suggested.  Despite all of this, the problem remains that I like numerous others are receiving a number of emails from Microsoft's internal network suggesting our profile information has been changed.  The change notice comes out of Microsoft's internal datacenter, but seemingly no change is actually made.

If I may be so bold as to say that I believe what we all want to know is what is triggering these messages and whether there is any real security concern.  If not, then what is causing the problem?