Ask HN: My Hotmail account got hacked.
I know. A Hotmail user. Ditch Hotmail you say but I happen to treasure that particular Hotmail account. The address is really short (2 char) and hence receive alot of bruteforce, hack attempts, and spam. But I still want it back.
Situation: Account was hacked. I know because support shared that the password was changed last month. I never changed it. Not the first time this account got hacked too, but easily got it back last time (pre-MS Live).
Attempts: Hotmail offers 3 solutions. 1) Reset of password to an alternate email address. 2) Challenge question. 3) Validation of account details.
For (1) I used a mail alias (from dotTK) but for whatever reason I do not receive the reset email from Microsoft. But every time I email to that alias myself, it works. Support mentioned that the alternate email is non-changeable by the hacker and the email address hint proves it.
(2) and (3) is not valid since I have failed numerous times and I can only assume the hacker have changed the information. Does not help that this account was created over 8 years ago and I did not use real information.
I have been on their support forum but their support staff are giving copy-paste responses and each time a different person.
What I Got: - I have asked them to check IP logs of login attempt (only logged in from one location). - I have said that they can manually email me to the alias and I can reply. - I have an old email from Hotmail support proving account ownership when the first hack happened. - I have my original password pre-compromise.
Help me fellow hackers! What am I missing? What can I do? Thank you.