How to identify scams like "American Express - Merchant Credit/Payment Approval"

What kind of email is "American Express - Merchant Credit/Payment Approval"?

We have examined this email and concluded that it is a phishing message disguised as a payment approval notification from American Express. The email tries to push recipients toward a fake American Express login page where the entered credentials are harvested by scammers. This email should be ignored.

More about the "American Express - Merchant Credit/Payment Approval" scam email

The email arrives with the subject line "Approval Needed for $14,845.33 Merchant Credit Payment" and uses Adobe Acrobat Sign branding together with the American Express logo to look like a routine business notification. It claims that a merchant credit payment of $14,845.33 has been issued to the recipient's account and that the recipient must authorize the transfer before it lands on the card's available balance.

To add an air of legitimacy, the message states that the document was sent through Adobe Sign by American Express and instructs the recipient to use a secure link to review and sign the "Merchant Credit Approval Agreement". It also warns that a one-time verification may be needed to confirm identity and finalize approval. The combination of a familiar e-signing brand and a large dollar figure is designed to make the email feel official and urgent.

Although the website linked from this email is no longer active, it was set up to impersonate the American Express login portal. Anyone who clicked the "Approve Your Payment" button would have been taken to a fake sign-in page asking for the American Express user ID and password, and very likely additional verification details such as card number, expiration date, security code, and personal information.

Credentials entered on a page like this go straight to the scammers. With access to an American Express online account, criminals can review statements, change contact details, request new cards, and authorize fraudulent charges. Card data harvested through the "one-time verification" step can be used for online purchases, sold on underground forums, or combined with other personal data to commit identity theft.

It is important to stress that American Express and Adobe have no involvement in this campaign. Their names, logos, and product branding are being abused to make the email appear trustworthy. Legitimate card issuers do not request full credentials, card numbers, or identity documents through an unsolicited e-signature link.

Similar scam emails in general

In short, this message is a phishing email dressed up as an American Express merchant credit approval request, and its real goal is to steal account credentials and card details through a fake login page. Recipients should not click any buttons or links in it and should simply delete the message. Sometimes, scams of this kind are also used to drop malware on the victim's device.

More examples of similar scam emails are "American Express Added To Apple Pay", "American Express Attempted Charge", and "American Express - Account Access Update Needed".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals often use email to push malware by attaching infected files. Common formats include executables (.exe), Microsoft Office documents, archives such as ZIP or RAR, PDFs, and various scripts. Opening these files, or enabling features like macros inside a document, is usually enough to start the infection chain.

Spam emails can also carry links instead of attachments. Clicking such a link may trigger an automatic download or open a page that pressures the user into installing a "required" program. In most cases, the malware will only run if the user interacts with the file or link, which is why these messages rely heavily on convincing pretexts like invoices, deliveries, or, as in this campaign, payment approvals.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be careful with emails from unknown or unexpected senders, especially when they include attachments, links, or pressure the reader to act quickly. Even when the email seems to come from a familiar brand, it is safer to log in to the relevant account through the official website or app rather than through buttons inside the message.

Download software only from official sources, such as the developer's website or trusted app stores. Avoid pirated programs, "cracks", and key generators, as these are common carriers of trojans and other malware. Keep the operating system, browsers, and other applications up to date, and use reputable antivirus software for an additional layer of protection.

If you have already opened a suspicious attachment or interacted with a link from an email like this, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Text presented in the "American Express - Merchant Credit/Payment Approval" email letter:

Subject: Approval Needed for $14,845.33 Merchant Credit Payment

Adobe Acrobat
American Express

You're required to view & approve
Merchant Credit/Payment Approval- Agreement

[Approve Your Payment]

A merchant credit payment in the amount of $14,845.33 has been issued to your account. Your authorization is required to complete the transfer to your card's available balance.

Please find the Merchant Credit Approval Agreement attached for your review.

For your security, the document has been sent via Adobe Sign by American Express. Kindly access the secure link provided to review and sign the agreement. You may be required to complete a one-time verification to confirm your identity and finalize the approval.

Thank you for your Card membership

American Express Customer Service
Powered by Adobe Acrobat Sign

To ensure that you continue receiving our emails, please add amexpressign@esign.com to your address book or safe list.

© 2026 American Express. All rights reserved.

Appearance of the "American Express - Merchant Credit/Payment Approval" spam email (GIF):

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Quick menu:

• What is American Express - Merchant Credit/Payment Approval phishing scam?
• Types of malicious emails.
• How to spot a malicious email?
• What to do if you fell for an email scam?

Types of malicious emails:

Phishing Emails

Most commonly, cybercriminals use deceptive emails to trick Internet users into giving away their sensitive private information, for example, login information for various online services, email accounts, or online banking information.

Such attacks are called phishing. In a phishing attack, cybercriminals usually send an email message with some popular service logo (for example, Microsoft, DHL, Amazon, Netflix), create urgency (wrong shipping address, expired password, etc.), and place a link which they hope their potential victims will click on.

After clicking the link presented in such email message, victims are redirected to a fake website that looks identical or extremely similar to the original one. Victims are then asked to enter their password, credit card details, or some other information that gets stolen by cybercriminals.

Emails with Malicious Attachments

Another popular attack vector is email spam with malicious attachments that infect users' computers with malware. Malicious attachments usually carry trojans that are capable of stealing passwords, banking information, and other sensitive information.

In such attacks, cybercriminals' main goal is to trick their potential victims into opening an infected email attachment. To achieve this goal, email messages usually talk about recently received invoices, faxes, or voice messages.

If a potential victim falls for the lure and opens the attachment, their computers get infected, and cybercriminals can collect a lot of sensitive information.

While it's a more complicated method to steal personal information (spam filters and antivirus programs usually detect such attempts), if successful, cybercriminals can get a much wider array of data and can collect information for a long period of time.

Sextortion Emails

This is a type of phishing. In this case, users receive an email claiming that a cybercriminal could access the webcam of the potential victim and has a video recording of one's masturbation.

To get rid of the video, victims are asked to pay a ransom (usually using Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency). Nevertheless, all of these claims are false - users who receive such emails should ignore and delete them.

How to spot a malicious email?

While cyber criminals try to make their lure emails look trustworthy, here are some things that you should look for when trying to spot a phishing email:

• Check the sender's ("from") email address: Hover your mouse over the "from" address and check if it's legitimate. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft, be sure to check if the email address is @microsoft.com and not something suspicious like @m1crosoft.com, @microsfot.com, @account-security-noreply.com, etc.
• Check for generic greetings: If the greeting in the email is "Dear user", "Dear @youremail.com", "Dear valued customer", this should raise suspiciousness. Most commonly, companies call you by your name. Lack of this information could signal a phishing attempt.
• Check the links in the email: Hover your mouse over the link presented in the email, if the link that appears seems suspicious, don't click it. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft and the link in the email shows that it will go to firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0... you shouldn't trust it. It's best not to click any links in the emails but to visit the company website that sent you the email in the first place.
• Don't blindly trust email attachments: Most commonly, legitimate companies will ask you to log in to their website and to view any documents there; if you received an email with an attachment, it's a good idea to scan it with an antivirus application. Infected email attachments are a common attack vector used by cybercriminals.

To minimise the risk of opening phishing and malicious emails we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows. 

Example of a spam email:

What to do if you fell for an email scam?

• If you clicked on a link in a phishing email and entered your password - be sure to change your password as soon as possible. Usually, cybercriminals collect stolen credentials and then sell them to other groups that use them for malicious purposes. If you change your password in a timely manner, there's a chance that criminals won't have enough time to do any damage.
• If you entered your credit card information - contact your bank as soon as possible and explain the situation. There's a good chance that you will need to cancel your compromised credit card and get a new one.
• If you see any signs of identity theft - you should immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission. This institution will collect information about your situation and create a personal recovery plan.
• If you opened a malicious attachment - your computer is probably infected, you should scan it with a reputable antivirus application. For this purpose, we recommend using  Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.
• Help other Internet users - report phishing emails to Anti-Phishing Working Group, FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, National Fraud Information Center and U.S. Department of Justice.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why did I receive this email?

Phishing emails like this are sent out in bulk to huge address lists rather than aimed at a particular person. Scammers usually collect those addresses from data breaches, fake sign-up forms, leaked databases, and similar sources, so receiving the message does not mean you have been singled out.

I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?

Change the password of any account whose credentials may have been exposed and enable two-factor authentication where possible. If card details, ID information, or other sensitive data were entered, contact American Express directly and report the incident to your bank and the relevant authorities as soon as possible.

I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, is my computer infected?

It depends on the file type. Executables can launch the infection process the moment they are opened, while documents, archives, and similar files often need an extra action - such as enabling macros or running a bundled installer - before the malware activates.

I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?

Simply opening and reading an email is generally safe. Infections happen when a user clicks a malicious link, opens an attachment, or otherwise interacts with the harmful content inside the message.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?

Combo Cleaner can detect and remove almost all known malware infections. However, advanced threats often hide deep within the system, so running a full system scan is important to ensure that everything malicious is identified and removed.