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How fraud checks work and when downloads are held

Alva Digital Downloads holds high-risk Shopify orders before sending the download email or assigning license keys, until the merchant decides. The lifecycle below is what runs in production for every paid order — and the routing list at the bottom points to the operational articles that go with each step.

Last updated · May 6, 2026 Read time · 3 min Author ·

How it works

Fraud checks pause downloads at a single point in the order lifecycle: between Shopify confirming payment and Alva sending anything to the customer. Five steps run in order:

  1. ORDERS_PAID webhook fires. Shopify sends the paid-order payload to Alva via Pub/Sub. The webhook handler resolves the shop, customer, and product mappings.
  2. Shopify Risk Analysis API returns a recommendation. Alva calls Shopify's risk endpoint and receives one of three labels — low, medium, or high.
  3. The order joins the fraud queue if risk meets the threshold. When the recommendation matches the merchant's configured threshold (typically high), Alva writes a FraudCheckQueue row inside a database transaction. The download email is held. License-key assignment is held.
  4. Approval releases the order. The merchant approves from the fraud queue. Alva sends the delivery email, runs license-key auto-assignment, and writes a FraudCheckAction audit row.
  5. Rejection blocks delivery. The merchant rejects. No email is sent, no license keys are assigned, and the order is marked rejected. Access can still be revoked later if anything slipped through.

When orders are held

An order is held when two conditions are both true: fraud checks are enabled in Settings → Fraud protection, and Shopify's Risk API returns a recommendation at or above the configured risk level (high by default). Low and medium orders sail through. Orders that match the threshold sit in the queue with no email and no license key until reviewed.

Screenshot needed

Alva admin → Orders → Fraud queue. Show 2–3 example orders with status "Pending review", the Shopify risk pill ("High"), product names, and the Approve / Reject buttons. No real customer data visible.

The fraud queue page with a held order awaiting review.

What customers see while held

Customers see nothing. No download email lands in the inbox, the customer-account page shows no purchased files, and the order-status thank-you page does not surface a download link. The order itself looks paid in Shopify — the hold applies only to digital fulfilment.

When orders are NOT checked

POS orders skip fraud checks entirely. Card-present sales in Shopify POS do not carry a customer record by default, and the webhook handler short-circuits before reaching the Risk API. Email and license-key assignment fire immediately for those orders. Draft orders and guest checkouts without a customer record follow the same path.

See also

Fraud & security

Approve or reject a flagged order from the fraud queue

The operational walkthrough — what to click and what gets sent.

 Fraud & security

Why license keys are assigned only after fraud approval

The reason key inventory is held until the order clears review.

 Fraud & security

Revoke download access after a refund or chargeback

For when a fraudulent order slips through and needs cleaning up.

Frequently asked questions

Can I disable fraud checks entirely?

Yes. Open Settings → Fraud protection in the Alva admin and toggle the fraud queue off. Every paid order then triggers an immediate download email and license-key assignment with no risk evaluation.

Where do I see flagged orders?

Open Orders → Fraud queue in the Alva admin. The page lists every held order with the Shopify risk recommendation and the products waiting to ship.

Does the hold cover license keys too?

Yes. License keys are never assigned to a held order. Assignment runs only after the merchant approves, which prevents fraudulent buyers from burning through key inventory.

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Last updated 2026-05-06