Strathcona County, Alta. – E-transfers are commonly used to send money as it is easy and convenient. Fraudsters are coming up with new, more elaborate ways to scam you for your hard-earned money almost daily. One of newest ways being used to scam unsuspecting individuals is through intercepted e-Transfers.
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 has a chance to receive it. The intercept is not cause by lack of security with the transfer but with the intended recipient’s email account being hacked.
Once a fraudster has access to the recipient’s email account, they are able to view when an e-transfer has been sent. They then use the deposit link in the email to redirect funds to their fraudulent account by answering the security question, which many people often provide within the message of their E-transfer or by email to the recipient.
To protect yourself against this type of fraud, here are a few tips to consider:
- Do not provide the answer to the security question in the message box or place the answer of the security question to the intended recipient using email. Call or text the recipient to provide the answer.
- Select a question and answer that is not easy for a third party to guess and cannot easily be found on social media. If the notification is intercepted, it will be harder for a criminal to answer and steal the funds.
- Be cautious. Do not open emails or click on links that seem suspicious.
- Notify your financial institution immediately if you sense anything fraudulent about a transaction.
For more information on scams contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre online at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca or toll free at 1-888-495-8501. If you believe you may be the victim of fraud or have given personal or financial information unwittingly, contact the Strathcona County RCMP Detachment at 780-467-774.