Outlook prompts to verify your credentials before you can view a confidential email

Owned by Sean Stockburger (Unlicensed)
Last updated: May 13, 2019
1 min read

When someone sends an email to you that is marked "confidential," or "Do not forward," you may see the following prompt in the message:

It is normal to see this prompt if you have not previously used Outlook to view confidential messages. Even if you have, you may be prompted to verify your credentials again from time to time. This happens when someone marks a message as "Confidential" before they send it to you.

Read more about marking email as Normal, Personal, Private, or Confidential

To view the message you must either click to verify your credentials, or open your email in the Outlook Web App in your browser. 


Caution!

Before you verify your credentials: How can you be certain this is a legitimate prompt and not a phishing message designed to trick you into giving away your credentials? 

  • Look at the actual email address to see if it matches what you would expect from this sender. 
  • Does the content that you can see make sense, or does something seem off? Is there a sense of urgency that seems unjustified?
  • Contact the sender and ask them if they intentionally sent you a message marked as confidential (or even private).