Automatically scan links in your email for malware threats

Checks every link in your incoming email against a threat database and alerts your team the moment one looks malicious.

How the work actually flows

It branches. Exactly one path is taken; runs once per each link found in the email.

Pattern: Exclusive Choice (4) · Multiple Instances with a priori Design-Time Knowledge (13)

flowchart TD trig>"email arrives in inbox"]:::trig s0["extract links from email"]:::task s1[["check links against threat database"]]:::mi s2["sort links by risk level"]:::task s3[("log results to spreadsheet")]:::store trig --> s0 s0 -->|"one per each link found in the email"| s1 s1 --> s2 gx{"× is the link malicious"}:::gate s2 --> gx p00["send alert to WhatsApp and Teams"]:::task gx -->|"malicious link"| p00 p10["no alert needed"]:::task gx -->|"safe link"| p10 p00 --> s3 p10 --> s3 out[/"instant alert on malicious links"/]:::out pay{{"catches phishing before employees click"}}:::pay s3 --> out out --> pay classDef task fill:#e7f6fe,stroke:#34b8f0,color:#2c2a29 classDef svc fill:#f6f8fa,stroke:#7c8795,color:#2c2a29 classDef mi fill:#e7f6fe,stroke:#0079a8,color:#2c2a29,stroke-width:2px classDef human fill:#fff,stroke:#0079a8,color:#0079a8 classDef store fill:#f6f8fa,stroke:#0079a8,color:#2c2a29 classDef trig fill:#00a4eb,stroke:#0079a8,color:#fff,font-weight:bold classDef trigtime fill:#00a4eb,stroke:#0079a8,color:#fff,font-weight:bold classDef trigdata fill:#8ad4f5,stroke:#0079a8,color:#06314c,font-weight:bold classDef gate fill:#fff,stroke:#e8a23d,color:#6b4708,font-weight:bold classDef out fill:#1f9d6b,stroke:#167a53,color:#fff,font-weight:bold classDef pay fill:#06314c,stroke:#021f33,color:#fff
Starts itA stepRuns once per itemA record or sheetOne path onlyResultPayoff
Build size
Advanced

A larger build with multiple systems, AI reasoning, and custom rules.

Business functions
Email AutomationMessaging & NotificationsSpreadsheet & Database Ops
Connects
GmailVirusTotalGoogle SheetsWhatsAppMicrosoft Teams

The problem it solves

Phishing and malware links slip into inboxes every day, and checking each one by hand isn't realistic. If someone on your team clicks the wrong link, it can compromise your whole network before anyone notices.

Who it fits

IT security teams and email administrators who need to catch malicious links before employees click them.

How it works

  1. New email arrives in a monitored Gmail inbox
  2. The automation pulls out every link, skipping normal Google links
  3. Each link is checked against VirusTotal's threat database
  4. Links are sorted by risk level, from harmless to malicious
  5. Suspicious links trigger an alert to WhatsApp and Microsoft Teams, and every result is logged to a spreadsheet
What you get

Malicious links caught before anyone clicks

Every link in your incoming email gets checked against a threat database, with instant alerts for anything risky.

What you get

An instant security alert on risky links, plus a running spreadsheet log of every link scanned.

What you need

A Gmail account, a VirusTotal API key, a Google Sheets account, a WhatsApp API provider, and a Microsoft Teams account.

We can build this. But should you?

The hard question is not how to build it. It is whether this is the right thing to build first.

That is what a Fractional Chief AI Officer figures out with you, before anyone writes a line of code.

Let's Talk Strategy

Related automations

Back to the AI Playbook