Do not trust fake "American Express - Unrecognized Transaction" emails

What kind of email is "American Express - Unrecognized Transaction"?

After inspecting this "American Express - Unrecognized Transaction" email, we determined that it is fake. The message claims the recipient must review a transaction to verify its legitimacy. The purpose of this spam mail is to promote a phishing website targeting account log-in credentials.

"American Express - Unrecognized Transaction" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "Confirm Your Recent Transaction" (may vary) is presented as an alert from American Express. The message queries the recipient on whether they recognize a recent purchase. They must sign into their account and review/verify the transaction.

It must be emphasized that the information in this email is false, and this mail is not associated with the American Express Company (Amex) or any other legitimate entities.

At the time of research, the website promoted by this spam email was down. Keep in mind that this could be fixed in potential future iterations of this campaign (i.e., emails will redirect to a functional webpage). We can say with high confidence that this mail endorsed a phishing site disguised as an American Express sign-in page.

Phishing websites record entered information and send it to scammers. Hence, attempts to sign in through such a webpage expose the user's American Express account log-in credentials (passwords) to cyber criminals.

Stolen finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, money transferring, digital wallets, e-commerce, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and online purchases.

To summarize, victims of scam mail like "American Express - Unrecognized Transaction" can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have already disclosed your log-in credentials to scammers – immediately change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support. And if your personally identifiable or finance-related information has been compromised – it may also be necessary to contact the corresponding authorities.

Threat Summary:

Name	"American Express - Unrecognized Transaction" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Recipient must review/verify a transaction.
Disguise	American Express
Symptoms	Unauthorized online purchases, changed online account passwords, identity theft, illegal access of the computer.
Distribution methods	Deceptive emails, rogue online pop-up ads, search engine poisoning techniques, misspelled domains.
Damage	Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Phishing spam campaign examples

"Secure Your Trust Wallet Account", "TNT Express", "Validation Process For The SSL Certificate", "Boost Your Productivity With Dropbox", and "Update Server Terms Now" are just some of our latest articles on phishing campaigns.

These emails commonly target log-in credentials, personally identifiable information, and finance-related data. However, various scams are promoted through spam mail, and it is used to proliferate all kinds of malware.

This mail is widespread and can be incredibly well-made – therefore, we highly recommend treating incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages with caution.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns proliferate malware by distributing infectious files as attachments or download links. These files come in various formats, e.g., archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Merely opening a virulent file can be enough to initiate malware download/installation. However, some formats need additional actions to trigger the infection chain. For example, Microsoft Office files require users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents need them to click on embedded files or links.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We advise exercising caution with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages. Attachments or links present in suspect/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be virulent.

However, malware is spread using various methods. Therefore, we recommend being vigilant when browsing since the Internet is full of deceptive and dangerous content.

Another recommendation is to download only from official and verified sources. Additionally, all programs must be activated and updated using legitimate functions/tools, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updates can contain malware.

It is paramount to have a reputable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. Security software must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected threats and issues. If you've already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Text presented in the "American Express - Unrecognized Transaction" spam email letter:

Subject: Confirm Your Recent Transaction

American Express

Do you recognize this purchase?

We need your attention on recent transaction

You are getting this email because you need to login your account to verify your recent transaction and ascertain they are all from you.

Verify now

View your account online
View your account online
About your online security
About your online security
Manage your alerts
Manage your alerts

Your account information is included above to help you recognize this as a customer care e-mail from American Express. To learn more about e-mail security or report a suspicious e-mail, please visit us at americanexpress.com/phishing. We kindly ask you not to reply to this e-mail but instead contact us via Customer Care.

© 2025 American Express. All rights reserved.

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is "American Express - Unrecognized Transaction" phishing email?
• 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?

Spam emails are not personal, even if they include information relevant to the recipients. This mail is sent out in mass-scale campaigns – therefore, thousands of users receive identical or incredibly similar messages.

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

If you have provided your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay. However, if you've disclosed other private information (e.g., ID card details, passport scans/photos, credit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact relevant authorities.

I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?

No, merely opening an email is harmless. Systems are infected when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked.

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

If the opened file was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) – most likely, yes – the device was compromised. However, you might have avoided this if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .one, .pdf, etc.). These formats may require additional actions (e.g., enabling macros, clicking embedded content, etc.) to begin downloading/installing malware.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and removing practically all known malware infections. Note that performing a full system scan is essential since sophisticated malicious programs typically hide deep within systems.

▼ Show Discussion