If you ever see “Microsoft unusual sign-in activity” in your emails, double-check because it could be a ruse sent by scammers to secure your account. There are several methods you can use to protect yourself from these attempts and keep your account secure.
People connect their emails to various websites on the internet, and extra precautions to keep them secure are required for cyber security issues. If someone tries to log in to your Microsoft account, the company will notify you via email that unusual activity has been detected in your account. Even though it appears to be a useful notification, it may have malicious intent.
Reasons for Receiving the “Unusual Sign-in Activity” Email
If you use a Microsoft Account, you’re likely to receive an “unusual sign-in activity” message to your email account at some point. It’s a security alert informing you of an unauthorised attempt to access your account. It could be because of:
- Someone attempting to guess your password: If someone enters the wrong password for your account repeatedly, Microsoft will flag the activity as suspicious and notify you.
- Someone is attempting to access your account from an unusual device or location. You will receive an email if someone attempts to access your account from an unusual device or location.
- Someone attempting to reset your password or recover an email address using your account If someone attempts to reset your password or recover an email address associated with your account, Microsoft will notify you.
- Microsoft detects other types of suspicious activity: Microsoft employs several security protocols to detect sign-in attempts that are the result of brute force attacks, phishing emails, and malware. If this occurs, you can expect an email.
- It is important to note that simply receiving this email does not imply that someone has attempted to access your account. It’s most likely due to your own actions—you incorrectly entered your password or signed into a desktop or mobile device for the first time.
- Regardless, it’s always a good idea to double-check the email’s authenticity, monitor your account activity, and change your password if you suspect your account has been compromised.
Check the email for “unusual sign-in activity” for authenticity.
When you receive an email claiming an unusual sign-in attempt, you must determine whether it is a legitimate Microsoft email or a phishing attack.
Check the sender’s email address—if it’s from account-security-noreply@accountprotection.microsoft.com, the email isn’t a forgery. If it says something different, simply move it to your spam email folder.
To unhide the email address, you may need to select the sender’s name—Microsoft account team or Microsoft team—depending on the mail client you use.
The email includes a button called “Review recent activity” that, when clicked, launches your web browser, where you can sign in and check your activity for more information.
It’s best to avoid clicking it and instead log in to your Microsoft Account by manually entering https://account.microsoft.com/activity into your web browser. This eliminates any possibility of you clicking on a malicious link.
How to Resolve the Microsoft Unusual Sign-In Activity Error
It is critical that you validate the Microsoft unusual sign-in activity error. If it comes directly from Microsoft, a security breach has occurred in your account, and you must take immediate action to protect yourself.
Check for authenticity.
First and foremost, you must confirm the email’s authenticity. As previously stated, scammers imitate official Microsoft notifications and emails to dupe users and obtain their data without their knowledge. Microsoft typically sends emails from official company addresses, which you can view by visiting this answer on the official Microsoft website. After verifying the email’s authenticity, it’s time to secure your account and, if necessary, recover it.
Change your password.
Begin by changing your password before anyone else who has logged into your account does. It is critical to move quickly through this step and change the password as soon as possible. Whether the email is genuine or not, changing the password is always a good idea, as an email from a scammer indicates that you are on their radar. You can make your password more secure by including lower- and upper-case letters, numbers, and special characters. This makes it more difficult for scammers and hackers to obtain your password.
Authenticator with two factors
Microsoft’s two-factor authentication is an excellent feature. It will help you reduce unauthorised access to your account and maintain control over any log-in attempts to your account. You will be required to approve your login from another device after enabling the two-factor authenticator. Even if you don’t receive the “Microsoft unusual sign-in activity” email, it’s still a good idea to keep the two-factor authenticator running.
Analyze recent activity.
Another option is to review recent activity, which will help you verify the email’s authenticity and keep you in control of your account. If you don’t notice any suspicious login attempts, you can be certain that the email you received was sent by a scammer. There is also a chance of detecting previous suspicious logins.
The final step is to contact official Microsoft support. They will have the most accurate answers to your questions and concerns about unusual or suspicious login attempts. Microsoft Support will also assist you in configuring your two-factor authenticator for increased security.
If you ever receive the Microsoft “unusual sign-in activity” email, don’t panic and try the steps outlined above.