Ghost issues in deleted repos being misused for crypto spamming

[PierreFritsch]

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I got spam that was sent as a notification out of a GitHub issue. The notification originates from an organization/repo that seems to have been set up so that a bot can create issues and thus send automated notifications using a bunch of at-mentions at the bottom of the message.

The GitHub help explains that, to report an issue as spam, I should click on the Report content button, but the issue was already deleted (maybe as part of the spamming process?) and there's no such button on the 404 page...

Same about the repo and the organization: Both are deleted. Also, I cannot report the sender, it seems to be a bot ("auto-mail-to[bot]") so that I'm clueless about how to report that...

I'd expect a way to report spam on deleted issues / repos / organizations -- or to find out that, for a given issue / repo / organization, it's already been taken care of. The error 404 page does not indicate if the repo was deleted by the spamming script itself, or because someone else already reported it.

Related discussions :

• Scam/Phishing Alert: Fake GitHub Notification Email Impersonating Gitcoin Fund - The GitHub teams are working on taking down (another?) scam phishing campaign and automatically deleting the ghost notifications
• Spam with the keywords "git coin", "paradigm", "ycombinator" => Git Coin Community SPAM

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• I have read the above statement and can confirm my post is relevant to the GitHub feature areas Issues and/or Projects.

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[joshlawton]

GitHub announced improvements to hiding notifications from spam accounts.

https://github.blog/changelog/2025-12-04-notifications-triggered-by-spam-accounts-are-now-correctly-hidden/

https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/180956

[ilko-nikolov]

Just got the same email on my work email. My work account is @ tagged, along with many other accounts from the same alphabetical range.

[VinDuv]

I’ve got the same email; in my case, it was from issue 110 on the same repo. I guess GitHub limits the number of mentions per issue to 50, so the spammer had to create a bunch of identical issues in order to mention everyone.
Extrapolating from the issue number in the mail, I guess the spammer created ~120 issues and spammed ~6000 people.
One thing that bugs me is that GitHub says that I have an unread notification (the spam one), but it doesn’t display it and I can’t mark as read. This tells me that the repository may have been set to private instead of deleted (or maybe it was successfully reported and hidden from view while GitHub investigates?)

[dimateos]

Same, the notification can't be marked as read inside the notifications tab:

[freearhey]

As a temporary solution, you can mark all notifications as read via GitHub API:

1. First, you need to create a PAT with the “notifications” scope. (https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/keeping-your-account-and-data-secure/managing-your-personal-access-tokens#creating-a-personal-access-token-classic)
2. Send a request like this:

curl -H "Authorization: bearer $TOKEN" -X PUT -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" https://api.github.com/notifications -d '{"read":true}'

[neverping]

As a temporary solution, you can mark all notifications as read via GitHub API:

1. First, you need to create a PAT with the “notifications” scope. (https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/keeping-your-account-and-data-secure/managing-your-personal-access-tokens#creating-a-personal-access-token-classic)

2. Send a request like this:

curl -H "Authorization: bearer $TOKEN" -X PUT -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" https://api.github.com/notifications -d '{"read":true}'

I have installed the GitHub client (the gh command available here https://cli.github.com/) and the "one-line command" would be this:

curl -H "Authorization: bearer $(gh auth token)" -X PUT -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" https://api.github.com/notifications -d '{"read":true}'

[nickofthyme]

Could also just do...

gh api /notifications -X PUT -f read=true

[stoilis]

Got the same. Issue link was plasma-ping/plasma.to#82

[itsjavi]

same issue, in my case the repo was ycombinatoor/ycombinator-co, if that helps

[akorutant]

Same for me:

[ping-plasma/plasma.to] Plasma Foundation | Over USD 2.4B TVL & 54.02% APY, XPL and Staking Rewards (Issue #154)

[pixleight]

Also got the crypto spam, from plasma-signal/plasma.to#234

[kn1ghtm0nster]

Just checked my notifications and I also got something similar. The difference is that I can't even see the repo period. No issue number mentioned or anything. Super weird but I guess time to change passwords...yay.

[patressz]

Same for me.

[nycnewman]

Seeing the same issue. Reported at Support ticket. Abuse process is not usable for this situation.

[apollo7321]

Same for me, no way to delete the notification.

[nycnewman]

Github Support have confirmed they have shutdown the cause of this issue.

[bjoernager]

I still can't get rid of the notification.

[apollo7321]

same here, it is still visible.

[Nikofaze009]

If the notification is stuck in your inbox, you can mark it read via the web UI (bell → Inbox → Done/Mark as read).

If the repo is gone and it won’t clear, you can use the API or GitHub CLI to mark the thread read:

gh api notifications?all=true | jq -r 'map(select(.unread) | .id)[]'
| xargs -n1 -I{} gh api -X PATCH notifications/threads/{}

(This just clears the notification; it doesn’t report the spam.)
Try this hope it works

[the-vampiire]

FYI for anyone else scrolling here. run the command from @mikecentola a few threads down.

if you run this one (the fixed version in the next thread) it will clear the notifications but the repos will be permanently stuck since you need their notification IDs to wipe them.

the extended command from @mikecentola will delete the notifications then output their IDs so you can use them to wipe the stuck repos on the sidebar

[Nikofaze009]

gh api notifications?all=true | jq -r 'map(select(.unread) | .id)[]' \
  | xargs -n1 -I{} gh api -X PATCH notifications/threads/{}

[apollo7321]

this actually worked, although I can still see the plasma.to repository in the sidebar.

thank you

[Nikofaze009]

Always at service 🙌

[itsjavi]

thanks! it also worked for me but had to quote the URLs

gh api 'notifications?all=true' | jq -r 'map(select(.unread) | .id)[]' \
  | xargs -n1 -I{} gh api -X PATCH 'notifications/threads/{}'

[Nikofaze009]

Awesome glad it worked for you!
Yeah quoting the URLs is a good call some shells can misread the ? if it’s unquoted.

[einarwar]

Got the same "stuck" notification, from plasma-network/plasma.to

[Nikofaze009]

Try the web UI first: click the bell -> Inbox, use the filters (for example is:unread) and choose Mark as read
/or Done.
If the repo is already deleted and the unread count won’t clear, you can use the GitHub CLI to mark it read

gh api 'notifications?all=true' | jq -r 'map(select(.unread) | .id)[]' \
  | xargs -n1 -I{} gh api -X PATCH 'notifications/threads/{}'

(This only clears the notification; it doesn’t report the spam.)

Report the abuse
Even if the repo/issue is gone, you can still report it at
https://github.com/contact/report-abuse.
Include any screenshots or links you have (even if they now return 404) so GitHub can track the spammer.

[mikecentola]

@Nikofaze009 I couldn't get yours to work, but I was able to both remove the notification and the repo from the list on the side with this:

gh api 'notifications?all=true' | jq -r 'map(select(.unread) | .id)[]'

gh api --method DELETE -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github+json' -H 'X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28' notifications/threads/[INSERT_ID_FROM_ABOVE]

[the-vampiire]

what a bummer. i tried @Nikofaze009 first and it did delete the notifications. but now i cant get the IDs to remove the repos 😭

[the-vampiire]

@apollo7321 i found a way to fix it for those of us who already cleared the notifications before seeing @mikecentola solution

https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/174831#discussioncomment-14659923

[awolfson]

Thank you!!!

[apollo7321]

@the-vampiire thank you, I had to test a bit around but it is finally gone. Thank you.

[FV7VR3]

Thank you!

[TarasKovalenko]

For Windows users, you can use the next command:

gh api 'notifications?all=true' | ConvertFrom-Json | Where-Object unread | ForEach-Object { gh api --method DELETE -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github+json' -H 'X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28' "notifications/threads/$($_.id)" }

[gxanshu]

getting same issue

[mezotaken]

Solutions above deal with the notification, but they won't remove the repo subscription, hence it's stuck forever in "Repositories" list.
Tried to clear it with delete subscription api, it will only return 404, so idk how to deal with that.

[mikecentola]

The one I posted removed it from my repo list as well. Do you have multiples that you need to remove?

[Nikofaze009]

Unfortunately there’s currently no public API or UI action that can remove a subscription for a repo that no longer exists. GitHub has to clear those references internally.

[Nikofaze009]

Submit a report to GitHub Support via https://github.com/contact.

Choose Report a bug >“Notifications or subscriptions”.

Include the repo name (for example plasma-network/plasma.to) and mention that the subscription delete API returns 404.

Mention that it’s causing a stuck entry in your “Repositories” list, so they can manually clear it from your account.

There isn’t a client-side workaround for this yet, but support can remove the orphaned subscription on their end.

[the-vampiire]

this is a pain in the ass but for anyone else wanting to solve this themselves that cleared notifications before seeing @mikecentola solution.

get hidden repo names:

1. go to https://github.com/notifications
2. open dev tools / F12
3. paste this (using xpath so it should be portable)

Array.from(
  $x("html/body/div[1]/div[6]/main/div/div[2]/nav/div[1]/nav/nav-list/nav-list-group/action-list/div/ul")[0].childNodes
)
  .filter(e => !!e.attributes)
  .map(e => e.childNodes[1].childNodes[1].childNodes[0].data.trim())
  .join(',')`

if the xpath changes this <ul> is what you want to target, then just replace the $x(...)[] part with $0

6. the result should be all the owner/repo names in that sidebar as a CSV. i have already cleared mine so it only shows this community thread, yours will have the hidden repos too)

7. copy the CSV or remove any threads you want to keep so you end up with just the list of the hidden repos you want to remove then copy
8. copy the command below and replace PASTE_CSV_HERE with your CSV string from step 7.
9. IMPORTANT when you paste you need to change the single-quotes to double-quotes so its valid JSON for jq. if you dont do this you will get this error jq: invalid JSON text passed to --argjson

• when you copy from dev tools it will look like this: 'owner/repo,owner2/repo2,...' (single quotes)
• when you paste you need "owner/repo,owner2/repo2,..." (double quotes)
• so you will end up with ...jq --argjson repos '["owner/repo,owner2/repo2,..."]'...

single line for pasting

gh api 'notifications?all=true&participating=true' | jq --argjson repos '[PASTE_CSV_HERE]' '[ .[] | select(.repository.full_name | IN($repos[])) | {id, full_name: .repository.full_name} ]' | jq -r '.[] | "\(.id) \(.full_name)"' | while read id full_name; do echo "deleting notifications for $full_name"; gh api --method DELETE -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github+json' -H 'X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28' notifications/threads/$id; done

split up for reading

gh api 'notifications?all=true&participating=true' \
  | jq --argjson repos '[PASTE_CSV_HERE]' '[ .[] | select(.repository.full_name | IN($repos[])) | {id, full_name: .repository.full_name} ]' \
  | jq -r '.[] | "\(.id) \(.full_name)"' \
  | while read id full_name; \
      do echo "deleting notifications for $full_name"; \
      gh api --method DELETE -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github+json' -H 'X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28' notifications/threads/$id; \
    done

here is the exact command i ran with output:

gh api 'notifications?all=true&participating=true' | jq --argjson repos '["kamino-fi/kamino-finance","gitcoin-communlty/gitcoin-co","update-mail/gitcoin.com","gitcoindaoor/gg","yccombinator/-notification","paradigm-notification/paradigm","capital-paradigm/paradigm"]' '[ .[] | select(.repository.full_name | IN($repos[])) | {id, full_name: .repository.full_name} ]' | jq -r '.[] | "\(.id) \(.full_name)"' | while read id full_name; do echo "deleting notifications for $full_name"; gh api --method DELETE -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github+json' -H 'X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28' notifications/threads/$id; done
deleting notifications for capital-paradigm/paradigm
deleting notifications for paradigm-notification/paradigm
deleting notifications for yccombinator/-notification
deleting notifications for gitcoindaoor/gg
deleting notifications for update-mail/gitcoin.com
deleting notifications for gitcoin-communlty/gitcoin-co
deleting notifications for kamino-fi/kamino-finance

result:

[mjlehrke]

Amazing. Thank you!

[oliver139]

Same here :(

[RampantDespair]

Yup, same thing on my end...

[BornToBeRoot]

Same issue

[gxanshu]

run

gh api 'notifications?all=true' | jq -r 'map(select(.unread) | .id)[]'

then whatever it returns put in next command

gh api --method DELETE -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github+json' -H 'X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28' notifications/threads/<put-the-number-here>

this solved my issue in Fedora Linux. i think it will work everywhere just install GH cli

[BornToBeRoot]

Thanks!!!

Here a Windows/PowerShell version:

(gh api 'notifications?all=true') | ConvertFrom-Json | where {$_.unread -eq $true}

gh api --method DELETE -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github+json' -H 'X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28' notifications/threads/<ID>

[VividVisions]

Thank you! Worked for me.

[Pafika97]

As far as I know, the issues have been resolved. Thanks to the team.

[ghid]

This worked for me! Thanks a lot @pataar

[jsoref]

@PierreFritsch you should select one of the answers here so that this discussion doesn't show up as is: unanswered

Another discussion:

• https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/176531#discussioncomment-14653603

[PierreFritsch]

@jsoref I can confirm that the spam notifications (behind the inbox-like button in the top-right corner) are cleared for me now, without further action from my end. ✅ - Thanks to whom it may concern for the magic in the background!

Did the GitHub team already communicate what happened to prevent such spams in the future?
(+ whether it would be possible to report such ghost repos and/or indicate if deleted repos have already been reported?)

[jsoref]

I don't think they've explained if they've done anything going forward.

For others reading, here is one person's answer which should provide a template for what to do: https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/174831#discussioncomment-14881646

[abo-L]

I don't think they've explained if they've done anything going forward.

For others reading, here is one person's answer which should provide a template for what to do: https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/174831#discussioncomment-14881646

[io7m]

"Me too".

This time it's plasmanotification/plasma.to.

[dylanbhughes]

Same, "ping-plasma/plasma.to"

[smowtenshi]

Is there any way to solve this without github CLI app?

[chowey]

You can open your browser's console and use fetch commands instead of the Github CLI.

Step 1

First use the following:

fetch('https://api.github.com/notifications?all=true&participating=true', {
  headers: {
    'Accept': 'application/vnd.github+json',
    'Authorization':'Bearer <GITHUB_TOKEN>'
  }
})
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(console.log);

You have to go through the results and find what ID corresponds to the bad thread.

Step 2

Then you can delete the thread:

fetch('https://api.github.com/notifications/threads/<ID_FROM_STEP_1>', {
  method: 'DELETE',
  headers: {
    'Accept': 'application/vnd.github+json',
    'Authorization': 'Bearer <GITHUB_TOKEN>'
  }
})
  .then(res => res.text())
  .then(console.log);

[Rplus]

Thanks! use fetch to deleted!
just need to go to https://github.com/settings/tokens , and gen a temp token with notification scope

[smowtenshi]

Thanks, that worked.

[gustavosett]

There is no moderation here? Damn!

[evaporei]

None of the scripts work for me because I don't have the notifications anymore, only the repos 😢

[patressz]

You can try run following command with your repo names. This worked for me.

gh api 'notifications?all=true&participating=true' | jq --argjson repos '["gitcoin-info/gitcoin-co", "etc..."]' '[ .[] | select(.repository.full_name | IN($repos[])) | {id, full_name: .repository.full_name} ]' | jq -r '.[] | "\(.id) \(.full_name)"' | while read id full_name; do echo "deleting notifications for $full_name"; gh api --method DELETE -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github+json' -H 'X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28' notifications/threads/$id; done

[evaporei]

Unfortunately, it doesn't work once you've got rid of the notifications. The repos stay there :/

[dylanbhughes]

YOU ARE A LIFESAVER @patressz

[0xSmartis]

Thank you so much @patressz
Finally a working solution.

[Rplus]

same problem with ping-plasma/plasma.to

[withSang]

This one-liner will help you (Thanks a lot @patressz )

gh api 'notifications?all=true&participating=true' | jq --argjson repos '["ping-plasma/plasma.to"]' '[ .[] | select(.repository.full_name | IN($repos[])) | {id, full_name: .repository.full_name} ]' | jq -r '.[] | "\(.id) \(.full_name)"' | while read id full_name; do echo "deleting notifications for $full_name"; gh api --method DELETE -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github+json' -H 'X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28' notifications/threads/$id; done

[Rplus]

Thanks, but I don't want to login in terminal just for that problem.
This is absolutely a situation that GitHub should address head-on, not just something to be dealt with by a workaround.

[NexPB]

Same issue here been having this ghost notification for over a month now, none of the command line commands work :/

[patressz]

Did you tried command as i mentoined below?

gh api 'notifications?all=true&participating=true' | jq --argjson repos '["plasma-notify/plasma.to"]' '[ .[] | select(.repository.full_name | IN($repos[])) | {id, full_name: .repository.full_name} ]' | jq -r '.[] | "\(.id) \(.full_name)"' | while read id full_name; do echo "deleting notifications for $full_name"; gh api --method DELETE -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github+json' -H 'X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28' notifications/threads/$id; done

[peckz]

This worked for me, I was reading from top of the thread

First I tried with this command, it just removed 1 from sidebar, but plasma was still in the repo list

gh api /notifications -X PUT -f read=true

Then I tried couple of command but no one really worked, until I read that you need to pull notification ID

Started by listing all notification repos

gh api --paginate 'notifications?all=true&per_page=100' | jq -r '.[].repository.full_name' | sort -u

I've got this as response

...
...
...
peckz/github-shortcuts
peckz/raycast-icons-preview
peckz/screenshot-overlay
plasma-signal/plasma.to <----------

Then I tried to pull ID for plasma-signal with this command

gh api --paginate 'notifications?all=true&per_page=100' | jq -r '.[] | select(.repository.full_name == "plasma-signal/plasma.to") | "\(.id) - \(.subject.title) - unread: \(.unread)"'

I've got this as response

19201726311 - Plasma Foundation | Over USD 2.4B TVL & 54.02% APY, XPL and Staking Rewards - unread: false

I managed to delete it, make sure to take ID and add to path notifications/threads/${id} <---

gh api --method DELETE "notifications/threads/19201726311"

That's it no more plasma in the sidebar

[NexPB]

@peckz bless you 🙏🏻

[moraesc]

I'm very excited to share that we just shipped a major improvement to how notifications from spammy repositories and users are handled. They're now correctly hidden so users don't see inaccurate notification counts for their repositories. 🎉 This effectively fixes the long-standing “ghost notifications” issue, which has been one of the most requested improvements from our community for years so we're extremely excited to finally deliver it!

You can check out our changelog for more details and feel free to leave any questions or feedback in our community discussion post.

[csf44033]

I just got sent a phishing email with a ghost issue