unauthorized charge

Hello Cindy Rigatti,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum!

I understand that you are having issue with unrecognized charge. I truly understand how you feel. Let me assist you further.

1. To identify the charge

Sign in to your Microsoft account > Order history: https://account.microsoft.com/billing/orders Check Services & subscriptions: https://account.microsoft.com/services If you have multiple Microsoft accounts, repeat steps 1–2 for each account (Outlook, Hotmail, Live, Gmail‑based Microsoft accounts). If you use Microsoft Family, check if another member made a purchase.

2. For refunding, please contact support for the best assistance:

Once you’ve tried the steps above, you can also reach out directly to the Microsoft Support team. It may offer live chat and, depending on your subscription/region, an option to request a callback:

• Go to https://support.microsoft.com/home/contact
• Search for "Refund Microsoft 365 subscription" in the search box.    
• Click "Get Help", then scroll to the bottom and select "Contact Support”.
• When prompted to select Products & Services, select Billing> Subscriptions> Charged unexpectedly / Refund
• Look for and select "Chat with a support agent in your web browser". Once connect, explain your situation clearly.

Please note that the chat support team only works during certain working hours. Therefore, if the last window indicates that you are unavailable, try opening it again the next day. If you prefer phone support, you can leave a phone number. That way, they can call you and help you.

Please understand that this is a user‑to‑user support forum. Moderators, contributors, and external Microsoft staff cannot directly intervene in Microsoft product features or access back‑end systems. Our role is limited to providing technical guidance on reported issues, requests, or ideas. Still, I will do my best to assist you with everything I can.

To refund and check for refund eligible you can refer to this website, follow the steps instruction:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/how-to-get-a-refund-on-a-microsoft-subscription-67dca30b-b323-44d5-acc2-e02f9902c472

I hope this will help with your situation. Please feel free to reach back if you have further update or more questions.

Best Regards,

Use the Microsoft billing tools to identify where the charge is coming from, then contact support or the bank if it cannot be found.

1. Investigate the charge online
   • Go to the Manage your payments page of the Microsoft account dashboard and select Investigate for unrecognized charges: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2246882
   • Follow the steps in the billing troubleshooter to see if the charge is tied to:
     • A Microsoft subscription with recurring billing enabled (such as Xbox Game Pass)
     • A family member’s purchase using the same card
     • A previously declined charge that was retried
     • An in-app or in-game purchase
   • More details about this process are here: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2247300
2. Check all possible Microsoft accounts
   • Sign in to https://account.microsoft.com/billing/orders for each Microsoft account that might have used the card (including any old or secondary accounts for both household members).
   • Under Payment & billing > Order history, refine by date (around January) and look for Completed or Redeemed Xbox/Game Pass charges.
3. If the charge is unauthorized or accidental
   • For accidental or unauthorized purchases, use the refund process described in Returning items you bought from Microsoft for exchange or refund.
   • If a child or family member may have used the card, review and control their Microsoft Store purchases and set up spending limits or approval requirements.
4. If the account may be compromised
   • If there is any sign that someone else is using a Microsoft account, follow the guidance to recover a hacked or compromised Microsoft account and to help protect it (change password, enable two-step verification, review recent activity).
5. If no Microsoft account shows the charge
   • If the charge cannot be located in any Microsoft account using the steps above, contact Microsoft Support directly for billing help and dispute options.
   • If Microsoft Support cannot find the transaction on any account, contact the card issuer/bank to dispute the charge as potentially fraudulent and ask about blocking the card and issuing a new one.

To prevent future unauthorized purchases on Windows 10 devices, set Microsoft Store to always require a password for purchases (Microsoft Store app > profile icon > Settings > under Purchase sign-in, turn off I want to buy without a password, for faster checkout on every shared device).

References:

• How to investigate a billing charge from Microsoft
• Cancel an order or pre-order from Microsoft Store
• View your Microsoft Store order history
• Make an in-app purchase in Microsoft Store
• Prevent unauthorized purchases from Microsoft Store
• Cancel a monthly charge on my visa credit card - Microsoft Q&A
• investigate a billing charge - Microsoft Q&A
• Can I speak to someone? -- Billing issues - Microsoft Q&A
• fraud charges on microsoft account - Microsoft Q&A
• Game Pass refund - Microsoft Q&A