$result = $db->prepare('SELECT `id`, `pwdhash`, `email`, `status`, `verify_hash` FROM `auth_users` WHERE `email` = :email;');
$result->execute(array(':email' => $_POST['email']));
$user = $result->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
if ($user['id'] && array_key_exists('pwd', $_POST)) {
// existing user, check password
$result = $db->prepare('SELECT `id`, `pwdhash`, `email`, `status`, `verify_hash` FROM `auth_users` WHERE `email` = :email;');
$result->execute(array(':email' => $_POST['email']));
$user = $result->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
if ($user['id'] && array_key_exists('pwd', $_POST)) {
// existing user, check password