Does Interac itself ever text or call me about a transfer?

Interac runs the e-Transfer network, but your bank or credit union handles your account and your support questions. Interac's own contact page tells people to contact their bank, credit union or acquirer for troubleshooting. A call from someone who says they work for Interac and needs your login or a code to release a payment is a scam.

Someone sent me too much by e-Transfer and wants a refund. Is that a scam?

It often is. Check your actual account balance in your bank's app, not the email or text, before you do anything. A fake deposit notification can be used to trick a seller or landlord into sending back money that never arrived. If the money is not in your account, the transfer was fake, and you owe nothing.

Where do I report a fake Interac e-Transfer message?

Email it to phishing@interac.ca, which Interac lists for reporting scams and phishing. Forward scam texts to 7726 so your carrier can investigate the sender, and tell your bank if you entered any details. If you lost money, report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 and to your local police.

Is it safe to send money to a stranger by e-Transfer?

Treat it like handing over cash. Once a stranger deposits an e-Transfer, getting it back is hard, so Interac lists rental, online purchase, advance-fee loan and romance scams among the frauds that use payments. Pay strangers only after you have seen the item or the rental in person, and never to unlock a prize, loan or job.

Interac e-Transfer Scam Texts: Spot a Fake Deposit

A text or email saying you received an Interac e-Transfer, with a link to deposit it, is often a phishing message built to steal your banking login. Real email notifications come from notify@payments.interac.ca and show the sender's full legal name. If you were not expecting money, do not tap the link; check your bank's app instead.

Oct 9, 2026

The fake deposit message

The scam text or email follows a short template. It says you have received money, often from a name that sounds official: a tax refund, a utility rebate, a “benefit payment” or a person you do not know. There is a link or button to “accept” or “deposit” the funds, sometimes with a deadline.

The link leads to a page that asks you to pick your bank and then shows a copy of that bank’s sign-in screen. Whatever you type, your card number, password, security answers or one-time code, goes to the scammer. The deposit was never real.

The trick works because it copies a real step. Interac’s own instructions say that when you select the link in a genuine notification, you are directed to your financial institution’s online banking. A fake notification sends you to a copy of that sign-in page on a domain the scammer controls.

Does the CRA send refunds by Interac e-Transfer text?

No. The CRA says it never sends refunds or payments by e-transfer or text message. The CRA pays refunds by direct deposit to the account it has on file, or by cheque in the mail. A text offering a CRA refund through an e-Transfer link is a scam, as our CRA scam guide explains.

What a real notification looks like

Interac’s guide to receiving money says a legitimate email notification contains the sender’s full legal name and notify@payments.interac.ca in the email field. Credit unions such as Vancity and Servus add that text notifications come from the short code 100001. A message from a ten-digit phone number, or an email from any other address, did not come from the e-Transfer system.

When we checked on October 9, 2026, both interac.ca and payments.interac.ca published a DMARC policy of “reject”. That tells mail services such as Gmail and Outlook to refuse messages that claim to come from those exact domains but fail authentication, so a simple forgery of notify@payments.interac.ca usually never reaches your inbox. It does nothing against lookalikes such as notify@interac-deposit.example, which is why the domain after the @ is the first thing to read. Our email check shows when a domain was registered and whether it imitates a bank or payment brand.

What email address do real Interac e-Transfer notifications come from?

Real Interac e-Transfer email notifications come from notify@payments.interac.ca, and they include the sender’s full legal name. Read the full address, not just the display name, and read the domain from the right. Anything ending in a different domain, even one containing the word “interac”, is not from the e-Transfer system.

How Autodeposit protects you

Autodeposit is a setting in your online banking that deposits e-Transfers sent to you straight into your account, with no link to click and no security question to answer. Interac says this reduces your exposure to phishing, and that if you use Autodeposit to skip the email step, fraudsters who get into your email account cannot intercept the transfer.

It also gives you a simple test. If Autodeposit is set up for your address and a message still asks you to click to accept money, something is wrong. Open your bank’s app and look at your account. A real transfer will be there.

If you clicked the link

What to do depends on how far you went:

You only opened the page. Close it and do not return. Do not install anything it offers.
You typed your banking login or card number. Call your bank on the number on the back of your card, tell them which page you used, and change your online banking password from the bank’s own app or website.
You gave a one-time code or approved a sign-in. Treat your account as compromised and tell the bank right away. Watch for new payees and transfers you did not make.
You used the same password for your email. Change it and turn on two-step verification. CIBC notes that transfers can be intercepted when a fraudster has hacked your email.

Then report the message to phishing@interac.ca and forward the text to 7726.

What to do now

Do not tap deposit links in messages you were not expecting; check your bank’s app instead.
Accept money only from notifications sent by notify@payments.interac.ca or 100001 that name someone you know.
Set up Autodeposit with your bank so you never need to click a link to receive money.
If you entered banking details, call your bank right away, then report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.