What is the "Admin Added You To The Project" email scam

What kind of email is "Admin Added You To The Project"?

We have examined this email and determined that it is a phishing scam. The message is designed to look like an automated notification from a project collaboration platform, falsely claiming that an administrator has added the recipient to a team. Its purpose is to trick the recipient into visiting a fake login page where their email account credentials can be stolen. This email should be ignored and deleted.

"Admin Added You To The Project" email scam in detail

The email presents itself as an automated team invitation from a project collaboration service, stating that an administrator has added the recipient to a named project team. It shows what appear to be team details - a project name and member count - then prompts the recipient to click an "Open Project Teams" button.

Clicking that button leads to a phishing page hosted on Google Cloud Storage, a legitimate file-hosting service that scammers exploit to make their links appear more trustworthy. Since the URL passes through a well-known Google domain, it is more likely to bypass email security filters and seem credible to recipients.

The fake page mimics the login interface of the recipient's email service provider. Based on the observed example, it displays a Gmail-themed form asking for an email address and password. The page may adapt its appearance depending on the victim's email domain, showing different branding to different targets to make the fake login more convincing.

Any credentials entered on this page are sent directly to the scammers. With access to a stolen email account, cybercriminals can hijack it, read private correspondence, reset passwords on connected services, and use the inbox to distribute further fraudulent messages to the victim's contacts.

Stolen credentials are frequently sold on underground markets or used in follow-up attacks. No legitimate project collaboration service is connected to this email in any way - the message was not sent by any real platform, and no one has actually been added to any team.

Phishing spam campaign examples

In conclusion, this email is a phishing scam disguised as a project team collaboration notification. Its goal is to steal email account credentials by directing victims to a fake login page hosted on a legitimate file-hosting service. Recipients should delete the message immediately and avoid clicking any links it contains.

It is worth noting that emails of this type are sometimes used to distribute malware rather than simply stealing credentials. More examples of similar scam emails are Mail Client Configuration, Your ACH Payment Is On Hold, and Password Update Alert.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam emails frequently carry malicious files as attachments or include links leading to harmful websites. These files can appear in many formats - executables, Office documents, PDF files, archives, or script files. Opening them, or enabling certain features within them such as malicious macro commands, can trigger a malware installation.

Some malicious links lead to sites that download malware automatically upon visiting, while others present the user with a deceptive prompt to manually download and run a file. In most cases, the infection requires the user to interact with the content in some way before the device is compromised.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be cautious with unexpected emails, especially those urging you to click links or open attachments. If a message claims to come from a service you use, verify by visiting that service's website directly through your browser rather than following any link in the email itself.

Only download software from official developer websites or verified app stores. Avoid pirated programs, key generators, and cracking tools, as these are common malware distribution methods. Keeping your operating system and installed applications updated helps by patching known security weaknesses before they can be exploited.

Use reputable antivirus software and keep it active at all times. If you have already opened a suspicious attachment or followed a questionable link, run a full system scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to detect and remove any threats that may have been installed.

Text presented in the "Admin Added You To The Project" email letter:

Subject: [********]:Team invitation

Admin added you to the ******** Project (TRAINING WORKING GROUP) team!

******** Project

(TRAINING WORKING GROUP)

6 members

******** Project (TRAINING WORKING GROUP)

[Open Project Teams]

A fake email service provider login page used in this scam:

Instant automatic malware removal:

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Quick menu:

• What is Admin Added You To The Project 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?

These emails are sent in bulk to large numbers of recipients at once. Scammers collect email addresses through data breaches, compromised websites, and similar sources. The message is not specifically targeted at you.

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

If you entered your email account credentials on the linked page, change your password immediately and enable two-factor authentication if your provider supports it. Check your account's recent login activity for unauthorized access and contact your email provider's support team.

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

Executable files can compromise a device almost as soon as they are opened. Document formats such as PDFs or Word files typically require additional steps - like enabling macro commands - before malware activates. The level of risk depends on the file type and how you interacted with it.

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

Simply reading an email does not put your computer at risk. Your device should not be affected as long as you did not click any links or open any attached files.

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

Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and removing the vast majority of known malware. That said, some advanced threats may require a complete system scan to be reliably identified. Running a full scan is always the recommended approach.