In this increasingly internet-driven modern world, there are more ways to scam us out of our hard-earned money every day. Convincing scam sites are rampant – don’t fall victim to fraud!
The scenario
You list something on Marketplace and within minutes you get a message from a prospective buyer saying that they want to buy it but are away for a few days – can they send an Interac e-transfer to secure the item?
You agree, and the buyer says that they’ve sent it. You check your email and find something about an Interac e-transfer. Before you proceed, it is crucial that you ensure that it is legitimate. If it isn’t the real Interac site, you will be handing your banking information over to a fraudster.
Be vigilant
Even accepting genuine Interac exposes you to cancellation risks but before you get that far you need to ensure that it is a genuine e-transfer. This list isn’t exhaustive but here are some tips for determining whether an Interac email is authentic.
Is the buyer being pushy, urging you to quickly find the email and accept the e-transfer? Is the email in in your spam box or has the buyer given you a story up front about why things might not be quite as you expect? Trust your gut, if something doesn’t feel quite right it probably isn’t.
Who is the email from?
Let’s compare the two examples above. An authentic Interac email comes from notify@payments.interac.ca and discloses the sender’s name. Notice how the fraudulent email comes from the wrong email and doesn’t tell you whom it is from.
If the email isn’t from the official Interac email, you should not proceed.
Does the email seem different than usual?
While a perfectly reproduced look and feel doesn’t guarantee that the email is authentic, a look and feel that is different from what you are accustomed to is a strong red flag. The first image depicts an authentic Interac e-transfer and is what the email should look like as of the time of this writing. The second email is clearly different to the norm and you should not proceed.
Where does the link take you?
A prominent red flag to check for is where the email is directing you. On desktop you can hover the mouse over the deposit links and see the URL at the bottom of your browser. On mobile, you can long-press a link to get options – Firefox mobile will show you the URL in the popup. Either way, scrutinize the URL before proceeding.
Something suspicious such as link.nn.ru or surl.li are NOT the official Interac website and you should not proceed. Only proceed if the website domain is exactly etransfer.interac.ca before the first slash.
Notice how etransfer.interac.ca.fakesite.ru/1a23dcbu is a fraudulent URL because there is a .fakesite.ru portion before the first slash.
Do you have auto deposit enabled?
If you have auto deposit enabled and the e-transfer isn’t automatically deposited, then it isn’t authentic. Simple as that.
In summary
Don’t rush when doing finance and commerce online. Trust your gut and do your due diligence before entering ANY information online, especially your banking log-in. Protect your hard-earned money.
