What kind of scam is "Your ACH Payment Is On Hold"

What kind of email is "Your ACH Payment Is On Hold"?

We have examined this email and determined it is a phishing scam. The message impersonates Fiserv, a financial technology company, and falsely claims the recipient has an ACH payment on hold. Clicking the link leads to a fraudulent login page designed to steal account credentials. This email should be ignored.

"Your ACH Payment Is On Hold" email scam in detail

The email carries the subject line "Merchant credit/refund was issued to your account" and poses as a notification from Fiserv Merchants. It claims the recipient's ACH payment is on hold and references a completed eSign request for a document titled 2026_ACH/EFT_Contract_payment_Settlement.pdf.

To pressure recipients into acting quickly, the message warns that the link will expire in three days. The email also includes a footer attributed to "Adobe Crisler CPA, PLLC" and mobile app download badges, details added to make the notification appear to come from a legitimate client portal system.

Clicking the View Payment Hold button redirects victims to a page on bariyerservisi[.]net, a compromised website. The page mimics a Citrix Cloud login portal, displaying both Microsoft and Citrix branding. Visitors are told that files have been shared with them and asked to enter their email address to proceed.

Any credentials typed into that page go directly to the scammers. Stolen Citrix Cloud or Microsoft account details can be used to access corporate systems, cloud-hosted files, and other sensitive data.

It should be noted that neither Fiserv, Citrix, nor Microsoft has any connection to this scam. Their names and branding are being misused entirely without authorization.

Phishing spam campaign examples

This email is a phishing scam that abuses Fiserv's branding to trick recipients into surrendering their Citrix Cloud or Microsoft credentials on a fake login page. The message should be ignored and deleted without clicking any links. Scam emails are sometimes also used to distribute malware.

More examples of similar scam emails are ChatGPT Payment Method Update, Password Update Alert, and Suspicious Sign-In Attempt Blocked.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals commonly spread malware by attaching harmful files to emails. These can take many forms, including executable files, Microsoft Office documents, PDF files, archive files, and script files. Opening an executable can lead to an immediate infection.

Other file types, such as Office documents, may require the recipient to enable malicious macro commands before the malware activates. Spam emails can also include links to harmful websites that may silently download malware or prompt users to run a file themselves.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be cautious with any unsolicited email, especially one urging you to click a link or open an attachment. If a message claims to be from a service you use, visit that service's official website directly rather than following any embedded link.

Download software only from official websites and reputable app stores. Avoid pirated software, cracks, and key generators, as these are a common source of malware. Keeping your operating system and applications updated is also important.

Use a reliable antivirus program and keep it up to date. If you have already opened a suspicious file from an email, run a full system scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to detect and remove any malware that may have been installed.

Text presented in the "Your ACH Payment Is On Hold" email letter:

Subject: Merchant credit/refund was issued to your account

ACH payment

Your ACH payment is on hold
All parties have completed: eSign request: 2026_ACH/EFT_Contract_payment_Settlement.pdf

This link will expire in 3 days.
[View Payment Hold]

A fake Citrix Cloud website used in this scam:

Instant automatic malware removal:

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Quick menu:

• What is Your ACH Payment Is On Hold 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?

Scam emails like this are sent in bulk, not to specific individuals. Cybercriminals gather email addresses from data breaches, fake websites, and similar sources, then distribute these messages to as many recipients as possible.

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

Change the passwords for any accounts that may have been compromised immediately. If you also entered payment or identification details, contact the relevant financial institution or authorities right away.

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

It depends on the file type. Executables (.exe, .run, etc.) typically trigger an infection the moment they are opened. Document formats like PDF or Word files are generally less immediately dangerous, but may still lead to infection if the user takes additional steps such as enabling macros.

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

No. Simply reading or previewing an email is safe. Your computer is only at risk if you clicked a link or opened a file within the message.

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

Combo Cleaner is effective at detecting and removing most known malware. That said, running a complete system scan is important, as some sophisticated threats can hide deep within the system and may not surface in a quick scan.