Views:

What’s happening?

Accounts are being created automatically in Dynamics 365 without any known user actions or triggers initiating their creation.

This can affect Customer Service, Sales, or other model-driven apps where Accounts are used.

Reason:

This may be caused by one or more of the following: 

  • Unintended automation or scripts running in the background without proper control or monitoring.
    • Misconfigured ARC rules may be triggering the creation of Account records based on incoming data (e.g., emails).
    • Unmonitored or unintended flows with triggers related to Account creation.
    • Background plugins designed to auto-create Accounts based on specific conditions.
    • APIs or third-party services connected to your environment might be creating Accounts via the Dataverse API.
  • Unauthorized access or security breach resulting in account creation without permission.

Resolution:

To troubleshoot and resolve this, perform the following steps:

Step 1: Review Automatic Record Creation (ARC) Rules

  • Go to Customer Service Admin Center > Case Settings > Automatic Record Creation (ARC) Rules.
  • Review all rules related to Accounts and check if they are configured to trigger under certain conditions (e.g., incoming emails, forms, external data).
  • Ensure there are no rules accidentally targeting Accounts instead of the intended entity (e.g., Leads, Contacts).
  • Deactivate rules temporarily to identify if they are causing the issue.

Step 2: Inspect Power Automate Flows

  • Go to Power Automate > Solutions (if applicable) or My Flows / Team Flows.
  • Look for flows with triggers related to Account creation (e.g., When a record is created, When an email is received).
  • Review each flow’s connections to ensure they are secure and correctly configured.
  • Turn off flows temporarily to see if automatic creation stops.

Step 3: Check Plugins and Custom Scripts

  • Navigate to Advanced Settings > Customization > Customize the System.
  • Under Plugins, check for any registered plugins targeting the Account entity.
  • Ensure that plugins are not configured to automatically create Accounts based on specific conditions or triggers.
  • Disable suspicious or outdated plugins to test if the issue persists.

Step 4: Review Security & Access Logs

  • Go to Settings > System > Audit History.
  • Review the audit logs to see which user or process is creating the accounts.
  • Check for any unusual or unauthorized access attempts.
  • If API calls are allowed, verify if any external applications are making unexpected Account creation requests.

Step 5: Review Third-party Integrations

  • Check if your environment is connected to external apps via Dataverse APIs or custom connectors.
  • Disable external integrations temporarily to determine if they are causing the issue.
  • Review logs for unauthorized or unintended API requests.

Reviewing these areas will help identify the root cause and guide you towards resolving the unintended account creation issue.

Disable each suspected area, and re-enable each rule, flow, or plugin one at a time to identify the culprit. Monitor your environment to see if automatic account creation continues.