Interac e-Transfer Security

Things to Watch For

When you send money using Interac e-Transfer®, your money doesn't travel by email or text message – just the notifications and deposit instructions. The receiving and sending bank or credit union transfer of funds to each other using established and secure banking procedures:

  • Authentication and transaction encryption.
  • Financial institution authentication.
  • Proprietary risk management.


Interac e-Transfer users are protected by multiple security layers, making the service one of the most secure money transfer services globally.

Your bank or credit union's security measures include:

  • Encryption technology.
  • Confidential user IDs and passwords.
  • Secure login process.
  • Security question and answer.

What is an Intercepted e-Transfer?

Fraudsters are coming up with new, more elaborate ways to scam you for your hard-earned money almost daily. One of the latest ways being used to scam unsuspecting individuals is through Intercepted e-Transfer.

An intercepted e-Transfer occurs when the money you send or were to receive gets seized and deposited into a fraudsters account before you or the intended recipient can receive it.

The intercept is not because of a lack of security measures or vulnerability with Interac e-Transfer®, your credit union or bank, but rather due to the intended recipient's email account being hacked.

Once a fraudster has access to the recipient's email account, they can view Interac's notifications and use the deposit link to redirect funds to their fraudulent account by answering the security question. Many people provide the answer within the message of their e-Transfer® or by email to the recipient.

 

How to Send Money Safely

We all have a role to play in keeping our financial activity secure:

  • Exercise caution when it comes to sending or receiving money.
  • Only send money to people you know and trust, just as you would cash. An Interac e-Transfer transaction cannot be reversed once a recipient has deposited the funds.
  • Always use a strong password that can't be easily guessed or found, and make sure you share it via a secure channel.
  • Better yet: Suggest that your recipient set up Interac e-Transfer Autodeposit for ease and added security.

To learn more about how you can protect yourself against Interac e-Transfer® fraud, visit https://www.interac.ca/en/consumers/security/interac-e-transfer/.