Managing personal Outlook.com account settings, security, and privacy
Take these steps immediately to secure the Microsoft (Hotmail/Outlook.com) account and stop someone else from using it:
- Review recent sign-ins and activity
- Go to the Security basics page and sign in.
- Select Review activity.
- On the Recent activity page, look for sign-ins or activity that are not recognized.
- For entries in Unusual activity, expand them and select This wasn't me.
- For entries in Recent activity, expand them and select Secure your account.
- Follow the prompts so Microsoft can help secure the account.
- Change the password again from a clean device
- From the same Security basics page, select Change password.
- Set a strong, unique password that is not used on any other site.
- Do this from a device that is trusted and has been scanned for malware.
- Add and verify extra sign-in methods
- On the Advanced security options page of the Microsoft account, select Add a new way to sign in or verify.
- Add at least one phone number and/or alternate email that is controlled and up to date.
- Make sure all listed phone numbers and email addresses for verification belong to the legitimate owner; remove any that do not.
- Avoid staying signed in on shared or compromised devices
- When using a computer, phone, or tablet that might be shared or compromised, always use a private browsing window.
- After finishing, select the profile picture in the top-right corner of Outlook.com or other Microsoft web pages and choose Sign out.
- Close all browser windows after signing out.
- If there is no longer access to a device where the account was signed in, follow the guidance in How to sign out everywhere (linked from the security articles) to invalidate old sessions.
- Turn on and harden two-step verification (MFA)
- Ensure two-step verification is enabled and working on the Microsoft account.
- Confirm that only trusted devices and authenticator apps are listed; remove any unknown devices.
- For persistent malicious rules or access, enabling MFA has been shown to stop recurring malicious actions.
- If sign-in attempts or fraud continue
- If sign-in attempts keep appearing, change the password again and review all security info.
- Consider adding a new alias and making it the primary sign-in, then disabling sign-in with the old alias so it can no longer be used to log in while still receiving mail.
- For ongoing unusual sign-in alerts, continue to mark unknown activity as This wasn't me and follow the secure-account flow.
For the TikTok-specific activity (purchases and logins), also contact TikTok support directly to report fraud and have their account sessions revoked and payment details removed. Microsoft secures the email account and sign-in, while TikTok must act on the TikTok account and purchases.
References:
- How to help keep your Microsoft account secure
- How to sign in to Hotmail
- What happens if there's an unusual sign-in to your account
- Why can't I log in to my Outlook account? - Microsoft Q&A
- My personal hotmail account hacked by hacker with authentication app enabled. - Microsoft Q&A
- I have seen great advice for deleting the idtienphuoc1 Rule but none for stopping it from re-adding itself - Microsoft Q&A
- Lock or block login attempts - Microsoft Q&A
- Sign out of Hotmail or Outlook.com