Microsoft asking me to verifying my account - is this a scam?

Hello, Suspicious! Thank you for reaching out! I’m John, an Independent Advisor and a fellow user of Microsoft Outlook.com. I’m here to help you today.

Can you provide a screenshot of it? Thanks. I need a screenshot to determine if it is legit or not.

Don’t click/tap any link. Don’t give your personal/contact information.



Warm Regards,
John

>>what concerns me is that despite the email saying they have blocked access to my inbox etc until I verify - but they haven't, I can still access both my accounts.

Typical Microsoft :-)

>>And when I click the link to verify it asks me to enter my password - which I don't want to do.

Good for you. Never trust any email including legitimate ones. In the future, don't tap/click links in emails.

>>How can I know for sure this is legit so that they stop repeatedly sending me these emails?

To me it does not matter if it's legitimate or a scam. I treat all of them as scam. Never follow what an email tells you to do. What's more important is you know how to check your sign-in activity, don't you? This may help:

Hi John,

below is a screenshot of one of the emails. I receive the same email every few days.

I did initially sign into my email from a new device however they claim my account is blocked but it is not, and when they want me to 'Review recent activity' by clicking the blue box shown below, it asks me to enter my password. This is a major red flag for me!

Ron,

this is very helpful - I didn't know this, so many thanks! :)

Thank you for the screenshot, Suspicious! It’s legit! Please read this article: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-bil....

However, if you still receiving e-mails from them and you know that everything is okay in your account, just ignore it. You have nothing to worry about.

Many thanks John, this is good to know. I appreciate you taking the time to reply.

Happy to help, Suspicious! If you have questions/concerns again regarding Microsoft Outlook.com, please don’t hesitate to ask. We, independent advisors/experts, will try our best to help you. Thank you so much, and I hope, you enjoy using this platform! Have a great day!

I’m having a similar issue. Was sent a login code to my backup email that I did not request (at 3am). No instructions to be found in Help. Microsoft offers nowhere to report this that I can find. useful info is hidden at best…

my wifes account was blocked after she tried to log in on her new phone she filled in the verification form but they need e-mail addresses for her contacts ,the thing is she has never sent an e-mail so she cannot unblock her account ,how can microsoft steal her e=mails some are very important

Microsoft is a virus in itself. Hell, it is so hard to get into your own account sometimes with all the damn verification with microsoft authentication app, and 2 verifications. Like keeping the own users out of their own accounts bad. Microsoft is the worst trying to login. I do at least three times plus before damn Microsoft lets me actually sign in. It is pathetic how hard they make it for their users. If I have more hard time to play my XBOX for trying to log into it. I might cancel my gamepass ultimate subscription, that is how pathetic it is. It is like going through hoops just to login.