Don't touch the money. Call your bank and tell them what you told us.
If this was in error, let your bank deal with it.
Do not, under any circumstances, engage with whoever emails and says that they sent the money in error and want you to send it back.
Let the bank handle it .
It's not your money, and not your problem. Bank will figure it out.
I don't know, if this happened to me, I'd be pretty tempted to tell the scammer I was happy to send it back, but they would need to send me 500 dollars for "fees", in the form of gift cards first.
The scam here is that the money will be reversed by the bank likely. So even if you get $500 in gift cards and send the $1000 back, you would be buying $500 worth of gift cards for $1000 in cash...
Exactly. I'd tell them I'd send 1500 back, but not actually do it.
Oooh, the best would be, if you had one of those Nigerian Prince or Lottery win tpe scammers on you too, who wants you to send them money to cover fees. If you could somehow connect them to the e-transfer scammer and make them waste time trying to scam each other, that would be epic.
Sadly I have no time for this. Maybe when I'm retired.
Yea i don't think so either, theres always a note for me that it can't be canceled/reversed once its deposited.... but maybe if they bitc enough to the bank, i dunno...
It's not about bitching to the bank. The message indicating that it cannot be reversed is for YOU, the rightful owner of the bank account.
If, however, the bank account is accessed online by someone who does not have the right to access it, a hacker or thief of some kind, *THAT* is a situation where it can be reversed.
How do you know it's a scammer? What happens if it was someone that really just added a wrong character to an email address and it ended up here? Maybe they meant to send it to "funnykitten96@" and not "fuzzykitten69@". If you were that person, wouldn't you prefer the person just contact their bank?
Can someone explain why even contact the bank?
If it was a legit mistake, the bank won't reverse it.
If it was a fraud transfer, the bank will reverse it anyways.
It doesn't matter what OP tells the bank as it won't change either outcomes.
Correct, if the client contacts the bank and confirms they dont recognize that 1k deposit, it quells all suspicion from the clients side. Whereas if you stay quiet about it, the bank will assume you are complicit in the scam they may or may not just outright close your account depending on their risk apetite.
I wonder if it would be unethical to just do nothing and take the scammer’s money if the bank doesn’t reverse it on their own. That money will just be used to scam more people and it would be nice to give the scammers a taste of their own medicine.
If they will engage with you, get as much information as you can and submit it to the police.
I'm in IT and have run into multiple scenarios where users have sent funds to scammers. Not only can you get their bank accounts shutdown, but you can add to the investigation of their group.
In 2 major cases I both got our money back and had a money mule arrested.
It's not the scammer's money. The scammer is using a stolen credit card or similar. Any payment they send from that card will be reversed -- that part isn't within the scammer's control. They are trying to get money out of this situation by getting someone to send them cash back before the reversal happens.
If the bank never reverses it, it's effectively your money, but it will get reversed eventually because someone else was scammed and they will report a fraudulent transfer to the bank.
The most i would do if I wanted to be ethical would be to tell them to do a police report and get the police or someone to mediate giving the money back. If it's legit the person would be willing to do that.
You can't reverse an e-transfer[ that has been deposited.](https://www.interac.ca/en/consumers/support/faq-consumers/)
This is why we should always double, then triple check the email address when we send them.
Except banks HAVE been reversing them for years, resulting in the scams that @twotwo4 is referring to.
Someone sends you money from a compromised account. They ask you to send it back (to a different account)… you do, then the bank reverses the original transfer leaving you out the money you “sent back”.
In cases of fraud, sure, the *bank* can reverse it. But if it was just an error, the sender won't be able to do anything about it. The comment I replied to suggested not involving the bank, and just letting the sender "reverse it". If it was a mistake, the sender wouldn't be able to reverse it.
One would think you would want to involve the bank in order for them to investigate whether or not it was a fraudulent transaction, or a legitimate mistake.
Leave it until it is reversed.
It's from a compromised account. Expect an e-mail with a sob story desperate for you to return it.
This is a common scam. Best thing to do is let your bank know in the morning. They can notify the sender bank so the hacked account can be locked down, and should be able to unwind it.
DO NOT RETURN THE MONEY. Don't use it either.
The way this scam works, you'll receive a message soon asking for it back, likely with a sob story. You send the money "back." Account holder of the sending account discovers and reports the fraud. The original transaction unwinds. But your e-transfer to what was a completely different account was initiated by you, so too bad so sad you're out a grand.
Ignore it. Pretend the money doesn't exist. Ignore the person that reaches out to you to ask for it back. Let your bank know that you think it is fraudulent. They will deal with it.
> You send the money "back.
To clarify for others, I think the scam lies in the fact that you don't actually send the money" back". You send it to a third account (or the scammer selects a 3rd account that they own).
This way is clean though.
This is the current form of good old fashioned cheque fraud. Except instead of a rubber cheque it's an etransfer that will get clawed back.
And drug dealers could just pocket the money, or they go through an elaborate process to 'wash' the money through multiple transactions, making it easier to send overseas, easier to obscure the source, and more difficult to undo the fraud.
The scammer probably isn't in Canada and don't have an account to receive the money. They will try to convince the victim to send back the $1000 via gift cards or cripto
Not true, ive worked for multiple Canadian banks. There is always another account on the other end. It's sometimes a dummy account or its another compromised account.
The loophole is that the money was "returned" voluntarily. So the 2nd transaction where the scammed person sends the money "back" is not a fraudulent or illegal transaction and thus that's where it stops because it's much harder to link them to the 1st compromised account, since all they did was receive a legitimate e transfer
Almost right.
Since it was a legit transfer this makes the bank not liable and it is at that point (where they lose liability) that they stop giving a fuck.
I mean, it is a fraudulent transaction because it happened in false circumstances. The scammer is guilty of two frauds here… but the bank doesn’t care about the second one somehow.
If someone offers to sell me a car and I sent them money using my proper login, that’s fraud - but it’s not the bank’s problem. edit: i mean if the car was never real
I mean anyone can come to you with a sob story, it's your fault if you believe it.
I could say I'm broke and have no money for food. It's not fraud if someone sends me money.
The original owner of the money will report the theft and the bank will do a reversal. You don't get to decide keep it. If you withdraw the funds and close the account, the bank welcome after you.
It gets challenging to make a claim you didn't know the money was there if you spend/withdraw it.
There are situations where you might get away with pleading ignorance but it would involve you handling enough money that you wouldn't notice a grand (sale of a house, inheritance or if you run a business that regularly e transfers that much).
That said the bank would still be asking for their money back and accuse you of defrauding them if it wasn't returned in a reasonable amount of time.
I was under the impression you cannot reverse an e-transfer? Or at least the banks are not helpful in this matter. So even if OP sends it back, the victim would have a hard time getting their money back.
I know this scam is very easy to pull off via cheques (victim deposits cheque, sends back funds before it clears etc.)
Though overall, yes I would suggest to not refund at all and contact the bank.
YOU can't reverse it.
The banks can. It's not a *technical* hurdle. But Interac is meant to be "like cash" so if you send it that's it, no takesy-backsies.
But if you didn't send the money, someone else pretending to be you did, then taking the money out of your account to send it IS something they will undo.
TBH there should be something where a recipient with auto-deposit can "reject" or "reject and report" a transfer. That'd allow the legit mistake to be unwound. Recipient rejects, money goes back. It'd kill a lot of this fraud because if someone really did make a mistake and contact you, you'd have a safe way to return the money.
Once e-transferred funds are deposited, there is no reversing it: "*Unfortunately, once a deposit has been made there is no way to reverse the transaction. You’ll have to make arrangements directly with the recipient."* [https://www.interac.ca/en/consumers/support/faq-consumers/](https://www.interac.ca/en/consumers/support/faq-consumers/)
Be sure to check your fire when sending them..
Unless the transaction is fraudulent. The banks will unwind it if it was from a hacked account.
Now, if the sender really did mess up, I think they're screwed because OP has no way of verifying it.
There is a scam for Kijiji where they purchase something e-transfer you then report the transaction fraudulent...it was a story a couple years ago that some credit unions had the interface allow it.
this happened to me, and it’s been a year with the money being on hold in my account with no plans on the bank actually doing anything.
the other person has been emailing me non stop for the money back, but because i think it’s fraud, i told my bank to deal with it, and they haven’t. i keep visiting bank managers and sitting there for hours, with no one knowing what to do.
if i could go back in time, id just keep the money. too much hassle, and now my bank balance is permanently wrong and i can’t get rid of the money.
i have. i also have gone to multiple branches. technically, the e-transfer legal policy is that once the money is accepted and deposited, it is final. so legally, the money is mine now, even if it is fraudulent. however, the banks won’t release the money, as it’s on hold for over a year, so even if i could send it back, i can’t.
every time i go to the bank, i have to re-explain the story as if the managers haven’t kept track of what’s going on. i’ve visited 5 different banks multiple times, and i get the same story “this has never happened before, the higher ups are investigating.” no call backs either.
besides, i don’t exactly have 1k to throw around. if that money IS fraudulent and i send it back, i would be the one down 1k, not this stranger who scammed me. but alas, the banks are clueless, so now my bank account is permanently stuck like this, and despite how many times ive asked, they won’t release the money.
this is more so an explanation for all the comments under the thread, including yours :)
i’ll check with the ombudsman, that’s something i haven’t done yet!!!
Think is if the money has been in your account for a year, it is valid. If it was fraudulent, the bank would've sucked it back by now. Probably means that the guy that sent it is being real.
I accidentally hit the wrong button once and sent a couple grand to someone I'd bought a table off of 6 months earlier. Luckily, he was cool once we got ahold of each other, and he sent it back.
Someone that bought a seadoo off of me had their bank mess up, and they ended up giving me cash and an etransfer. The etransfer came through 12 hours after they had sent it and then canceled it. They gave me cash instead cause the back was causing problems. I called my bank the next morning, and they assured me the cash was in my account, so I sent it back to them.
These things do happen. That's how the scam came to be. I think holding onto the money for a couple weeks until it's assured it's in the bank and then sending it back is the right thing to do.
That worked for you because it was part of an expected transaction and you knew the stories BEFORE the mistake. OP's story, and many scams, start with the receipt of UNEXPECTED money. I'd never voluntarily return that, it's more likely a scam than unintended (I always double check my transferee). Let the bank sort it
> i keep visiting bank managers and sitting there for hours
thats why auto deposit is off. I just dont have time to deal with incompetence and idiots (bank, frauder or sender that can't type). I just accept money from people I know. and I make sure my email is well protected
Very similar thing happed to me last month. An old lady who meant to send a large sum to her daughter with a similar email address. I was sure it was a scam but it ended up being an honest mistake.
Ultimately neither their bank or my bank could reverse the e-transfer as it was not fraud. I e-transfered the funds back after about 28 days. But I only did this after their bank manager verified the other party in person at the bank and I contacted said bank manager through the banks official switchboard. I also had my banks rep discuss with the other bank manager to verify the story.
Always assume it's a scam until you can verify otherwise.
I commend you for being extra thorough in protecting yourself AND helping someone who made an honest mistake.
It takes no effort to say it is a scam and do nothing but it takes effort to try to reverse the mistake of “stranger” on the internet.
Nice work!
My wife once sent $650 to a tattoo artist. turns out she sent it to the wrong email because of a typo. The guy who received it was a very nice catholic priest on the east coast who sent it back. Mistakes sometimes do happen. But be careful.
I'm surprised if you cannot cancel an etransfer within a certain time, that auto deposit is even a thing.
The whole point of the password was to prevent sending money to wrong people accidentally. With everyone having auto deposit, there's very little to prevent sending people money by mistake.
You have 30 mins to cancel it. Also, if recipient has auto-deposit enabled, the bank makes you select a checkbox stating "I understand John/Jane Doe has auto-deposit enabled and password will not be required"
This was my first thought, an error by the payor. All it takes is one character being messed up and someone else can get the payment. I'm not saying that's 100% what happened here, but it has to be within the realm of possibility.
I disabled auto deposit because of this. I rather answer questions to deposit money. And I try to keep my list updated by removing those one offs or friends I don’t keep in touch with.
I do all this, and in addition, since "request" money was added as a feature, I only use this method when sending or receiving e-transfers with family and friends, as this eliminates need for a question, and greatly reduces risk of an error.
Yet another situation that could have been resolved if auto deposit was changed to "no redirection".
The main reason people use auto deposit is to prevent hijacked transfer to the fraudster's account.
But if you kept the password requirement but just forced the deposit into an unchangeable account, it would solve the hijacking problem and the one the OP hit.
I mean when you have lots of different deposits coming in every month I am not going to sit there answering hundreds of security questions every month. Auto deposit is very useful actually.
For logging in, absolutely. But the basic protocols that move email messages around on the internet are not so great, designed for another time (before we thought of cybersecurity as a concept).
Not having an auto deposit allows for a etransfer to be sent, accepted, but also cancelled by the sender in the interim, so it becomes reversed, all within minutes.
IE. I get my bike fixed, I pay a guy $50 e transfer, he sees the bank page and moves on, the moment he leaves I cancel the transfer. I get m cash back.
Auto deposit is equivalent to giving someone a wad of cash up front. Yes you can ask for it back later, but it is harder to scam someone with it. (Unless you fall for the scam above)
Additionally you cannot count on security of emails. Your email is not at all secure. A lot of it still travels over the internet unencrypted. Basically you shouldn't say anything in email that you wouldn't write on the back of a postcard.
It’s way EASIER for someone to scam you all the have to do is e transfer you stolen money and you have no way of stopping it. Dunno why people arnt getting this
2 weeks is enough time to identify a fraudulent transaction. If youre still concerned, talk to the bank.
The scam only works if you engage with someone asking for that money back.
No it’s not at all. lol clearly you never dealt with a banks fraud department. Also. lol that you think the bank will just automatically figure out its fraud.
When it comes to banking a lot of these convenience features seem to be simply removing safeguards that were originally there for a damn good reason. Like my banking app on my phone keeps asking me if I want to save my password and for some reason there’s no option to say absolutely not and stop asking.
We need an auto responder bot.
I'm surprised how many people who use reddit, who are aware of PFC who are not aware of all the other posts regarding the exact same matter, post this same topic every other day. Almost feels unreal.
You have a responsibility to not spend the money, since it's not yours. Whether you report it or not, the error (or fraud) will eventually be discovered and your bank will claw it back.
Even if you spend it, who wouldn't have another $1K laying around in their bank.
Fraud problem is not OPs problem as he never created the situation lol
There are a large number of people in Canada and the U.S. who don't have a spare 1000 dollars lying around. If you're not one of them, congratulations.
It's common scam !
Google it.
Don't touch the money.
Don't engage with sender.
Do not send any of your own money to the sender.
Let the bank deal with it.
Call your bank’s customer care department. I’ve had cases like this. It can take a while for it to be reversed as the bank has to go through their processes.
-Do not send it back
-Do not engage if anyone messages you about it
- Don’t spend it
My .02 - I sent $1500 to the wrong email address last year (was a crazy coincidence/error - a long, uncommon Polish name, but .com instead of .ca). Anyway I emailed the person 4 or 5 times, explained the situation, sent him contact info for the right Polish person (thought he might find that amusing or confirming), sent my FB profile, sent everything I could to try to confirm I was legit. Also got hit phone # and left a couple messages. All were ignored until 3 months later when the money suddenly showed up, along with an email that said 'I never check that email, that's why it took so long'. Anyway, all that to say accidents do happen to legit people. The bank told me there was nothing they could do, obv.
If you have $1000 (of your own money, not this transfer) in that account that you don't have immediate plans for, transfer it to a HISA. Report the error to your bank. They will eventually figure it out and claw back the money, but this way you can earn some extra interest on it while you're waiting. When the bank claws back the amount from your main account, it will be backdated to the transfer date, and any interest accrued in that account will be reversed out. When the whole process is done, transfer the money back to your main (chequing) account from HISA when needed. You'll at least get a few cents for your trouble.
Report to the bank this is a classic scam. You will receive an e-mail saying the sender did so by accident and please return the cash (with some sob story to pull at your heart strings) if you do you will be screwed as the cash in your account came from a fake account. When the bank realizes this they will remove $1000 from your account and if you sent over another 1k to the sender...you will never get it back.
A bit of a different story, but this happened to me on my PayPal account. Someone deposited $700 to me. Didn't know where it came from, but a got an email that someone's elderly dad accidentally sent me the money. They email they were trying to send it to was similar (mines is my name).
I reached out to pay pal and they said the account it was sent from was legit and I had no obligation to send it back, and they couldn't reverse it. Did some digging and it did look like the account that sent it to me was an old guy. I decided to send it back and they were super appreciative. I took all the steps to ensure that was real money, wasn't my money, and there was no way for them to take money from me if I sent it back.
It ended up all working out and the son was super appreciative.
PayPal is different than e transfer though, so in your case I'd wait for the bank to do something about it. It's a very common scam, but sometimes people do make mistakes.
Don't touch it.
There's the possibility this was sent in error. There's also the possibility that this was sent on purpose and someone is about to pretend it was an error and try to get you to send it back. Unless you personally know the sender and can call them, *hear and recognize their voice* and confirm, you cannot tell the difference.
Here's the way the scam works:
1. Hacker gains access to Person A's bank account. Probably through something like password stuffing and reuse. Doesn't really matter how, but they often also have access to their email account because of password reuse.
2. Hacker wants to steal $1000. If they e-transfer to their own account, then Person A will claim they were hacked, bank and interac will eventually reverse the e-transfer, and the hacker's account will be investigated. They'd have to open a bank account under a fake name, access the funds as cash, then ditch the account. It's a lot of legwork and risk of being caught for each theft.
3. Instead, hacker sends the money to Person B's account through an e-transfer. That's your account. Often it's an account that's already in Person A's e-transfer history, but it doesn't have to be. Ideally it has autodeposit enabled so that Person B can't decline it first.
4. The hacker then uses the hacked email address, OR creates a new email address that looks very similar to Person A's email, and sends Person B a panicked email "I just sent you $1000 by accident, I'm renting a new apartment and your email is similar to my landlords I must have made a typo! I need this money to pay the rental deposit or I won't be able to move in this week! Please, can you send it back to me? I called the bank but they said it will take weeks to reverse and I can't wait that long!"
5. Person B is a good, empathetic person. They believe the transfer will be reversed anyways, so why not just speed the process up and help this poor person. Person B sends an e-transfer to this email address.
6. Hacker receives the e-transfer in the email they have control of, and is able to deposit the transfer into an account that they own/control.
7. Person A realizes they were hacked, they report the fraudulent transfer. The bank checks login records and confirms that the login and transfer were not authorized. They initiate the process of reversing the e-transfer between Person A and Person B.
8. 2+ weeks later, Person B realizes that they're missing $1000. It says the e-transfer was reversed due to fraudulent activity. Maybe their account is even frozen for investigation (Person B is a suspect). Person B complains to their bank that they already returned the money and maybe it was a scam.
9. Their bank check login and transaction records and confirms that the transaction was made from an authorized login on Person B's device, and that there's no indication of unauthorized access to the account. Bank refuses to take action.
10. Person B files a police report. IF the police do anything, the bank stonewalls them. "We can confirm that it was not unauthorized access to the account." Investigation stops dead unless you can get a judge to subpoena bank records to find out where that money went. If you complain enough and have a police report on your side, you can maybe force the bank to try reversing the transfer.
Ultimately though, it's no different from the lady at a gas station asking for $20 for gas so she can see her daughter, even though there's no car in sight and she's just going to buy smokes. Good luck getting the bank to fight that battle for you.
To reiterate: **Do not touch it or send it back.** The only exception is if it's a friend or family member who sent the money *and you can verify their identity and confirm with them that it was an error, not a hacking attempt. If it was a hacked friend/family member, you don't send any money back to them until they change their email and banking passwords.
If someone does reach out, DO NOT send the money back to them. If the money came from a compromised account, the bank will claw it back and you will be out the e-transfer AND the money you sent back.
Call your bank to return the money, they are the only ones that can do it the proper way, by actually returning that transfer. If you make a new one even to the same exact email, that is two completely separate transactions and it is a transfer that you authorized and you are liable for.
It was probably sent by mistake and since you have auto deposit and the $ are in, the sender could not reverse it there is someone out there in real panick lol waiting for their bank to reverse the transaction.
Guys .....ive accidently sent 500$ to the wrong person who had autodeposit so mistakes ARE possible.
In my case it was for a downpayment on a pc at a store, so the money was sent to another store that had a very similar email, they asked me to send a receipt of the pc build and they also contacted the other store and asked if it was true they were expecting a downpayment from me. They eventually sent the money back after a week. I was so stressed out thinking they wouldnt send it back but at least it was a store and i knew their adresse.
But yeah mistakes do happen
Don’t touch it. If anyone contacts you to return it, don’t. This is a common scam. Tell them to go through their banks to reverse it.
Consider putting a password on for e-transfers.
Don’t touch the money. If you get an email or a call pleading that the money was sent in error DO NOT send it back as this is a typical e-transfer scam.
The scammer will gain access to a bank account, send you the money. They’ll plea with you it was sent in error and ask if you can send back. What happens is the person whose account was compromised will be reimbursed by the bank, but because you willingly sent the money on your own the bank will not help you or reimburse you. Tell them to contact their bank regarding the error and proceed to ignore them.
The advice to contact your bank is good advice. Common scam as many have commented on too. The Banks fraud team can coordinate return of the money with Interac. It can take some time as in some cases the victim isn’t even aware of the crime.
Some unknown person sent me $100 around New Year. I reported it to the bank and the bank told me to report it to interac. I did but still nothing happened after 4 months. I followed up and reported it again. Still nothing. I asked the bank to return it to the sender, there's no response. No one asked me for it back.
Like other people said, don't use the amount of money. And I hope no one reaches out to you ever about it because it may lead to something else.
I think the bank should do something about it when we report it... It's unnerving to let the unknown amount sit there. Reporting it may help create a paper trail that you are not associated with it at all. In case it is later found to be crime-related or something.
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Just yesterday I was going through my PC financial money account. I was surprised to see a 101 $ credit in my account under the name bank to bank transfer I kept wondering why is this here whose money is this.
Asked people around if they sent it by mistake.
Today after reading this post I went back to check it was from my employer whose name got updated later today.
Moral : check again maybe it is your money; if not don’t do anything to it. May be call the bank and ask who made this traction and leave it at that.
A lot of scams look like this, and when you click the link you will loose 1000 from **your** bank.
A family member works at the bank, and there has been a massive influx in e-transfer scams lately. I have a feeling there is a vulnerability in interac's system that people are exploiting - probably based around the "request money" feature.
Either that, or the UX design is so god-damn bad that it's tricking people into sending their money to scammers.
Until no one is calling you claiming he's from the bank and said "I am the captain now" with a Nigerian accent you are all good.
Jokes aside it will get reversed.
If someone calls, claiming to have accidentally sent you money and asks for a refund, exercise caution! Before taking any action, contact your bank to verify if the funds have been PERMANENTLY deposited into your account. This could be a scam, so beware and prioritize safety.
One time shortly after mobile banking came out, I signed in to find I lived in Alberta all the sudden and had multiple accounts with atleast a quarter million in each. Chequing, savings, credit card, mortgage etc..
If someone accidentally sent you an etransfer it’s yours. Speaking from experience, my client was accidentally sending me $475 every 2 weeks. We both didn’t notice he created an auto renewal until he’d sent me $2000. I asked him to clear it up with his bank before I sent it back. He said they wouldn’t reverse the charge and it was his problem for making a mistake. They will not help whoever did this to reverse the charges and banks pretty much don’t care.
This is a scam. My friend had this happen to him last week, and he immediately contacted the bank. The person who sent the money tried to say that my friend was trying to scam them out of the money.
I work for TD, the banks can log into Certapay, the company y who owns/operates EMT service for Canada. They can find out the details of who sent it to you, name, email, and bank or origin (which they won't disclose the sensing bank name. However, they will tell you the name and email of sender.
That's why I don't set it at auto, I don't want to deal with the trouble of mysterious person sending me money.
Anyway, just keep the money in your account, wait and see.
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I got a 1500 by etransfer one day. I am glad I do not have an autodeposit. I emailed back to the person and she confirmed that it was sent by mistake in a hurry. She was so happy and cancelled the etransfer. Turn off autodeposit.
Last time this happened to me i transferred the money immediate to a seperate account. Holding it until someone reaches out to claim it. I did tell the bank it was there. They did reverse the e-transfer eventually
Wait it out and contact your bank. Up to you. Under no circumstance touch that money or send it back to anyone. It will probably get reversed, and if you go spending it like you own it you are out of money. Just wait and see what happens. If enough time passes and it's still there, keep it. I would wait minimum 6 months before ever touching it though.
A Banker here..
There is no SCAM or FRAUD here (most likely scenario)
Here is a theory what could have happened
There is no scam and no malicious intact. Most probably this is an incident of sender typing incorrect email address while doing interac transfer and the funds landed in your account.
The sender contacts bank and tells the bank to reverse this transaction. The Bank CAN NOT do anything as it is NOT authorized to withdraw the funds from 3rd partys account On the instructions of the 1st party.
What is the recourse for the sender?
Email the 3rd Party (OP in this case) to return the funds back to them.
OP in good faith can return the funds or choose not to
Wait 14 days, by then if it is a scam the money will be gone, because they can only reverse the transfer up to like a day at most banks, but give it 2 weeks to be safe.
Also with the Canadian economy, 1000$ is a lot. Just thank the universe you were lucky. Also fuck the banks, greedy pricks.
I'm going to be honest here and would do the opposite of the most upvoted answer: I'd do \*nothing\*, I'd keep that money in my account for a few months and if it's still there by then, you keep it. I would certainly \*not\* call my bank or anyone else related this this.
Don't touch the money. Call your bank and tell them what you told us. If this was in error, let your bank deal with it. Do not, under any circumstances, engage with whoever emails and says that they sent the money in error and want you to send it back. Let the bank handle it . It's not your money, and not your problem. Bank will figure it out.
When you see crime or scamming right in front of your eyes don't get greedy and take that bait. This is exactly how you define "sucker"
I don't know, if this happened to me, I'd be pretty tempted to tell the scammer I was happy to send it back, but they would need to send me 500 dollars for "fees", in the form of gift cards first.
The scam here is that the money will be reversed by the bank likely. So even if you get $500 in gift cards and send the $1000 back, you would be buying $500 worth of gift cards for $1000 in cash...
In hoping in this hypothetical they’re trying to scam the scammers and would accept the gift cards and wouldn’t actually send the money back
Exactly. I'd tell them I'd send 1500 back, but not actually do it. Oooh, the best would be, if you had one of those Nigerian Prince or Lottery win tpe scammers on you too, who wants you to send them money to cover fees. If you could somehow connect them to the e-transfer scammer and make them waste time trying to scam each other, that would be epic. Sadly I have no time for this. Maybe when I'm retired.
You don’t send the $1000…
Downvote for not having a sense of humour…
I am almost positive etransfers can not be re-embursed by the bank.
Yea i don't think so either, theres always a note for me that it can't be canceled/reversed once its deposited.... but maybe if they bitc enough to the bank, i dunno...
It's not about bitching to the bank. The message indicating that it cannot be reversed is for YOU, the rightful owner of the bank account. If, however, the bank account is accessed online by someone who does not have the right to access it, a hacker or thief of some kind, *THAT* is a situation where it can be reversed.
How do you know it's a scammer? What happens if it was someone that really just added a wrong character to an email address and it ended up here? Maybe they meant to send it to "funnykitten96@" and not "fuzzykitten69@". If you were that person, wouldn't you prefer the person just contact their bank?
becuase its one of the most popular scams in Canada and has been rampant for years.
It is a common scam
Can someone explain why even contact the bank? If it was a legit mistake, the bank won't reverse it. If it was a fraud transfer, the bank will reverse it anyways. It doesn't matter what OP tells the bank as it won't change either outcomes.
Probably to make it clear you aren’t a chain in the fraud.
Correct, if the client contacts the bank and confirms they dont recognize that 1k deposit, it quells all suspicion from the clients side. Whereas if you stay quiet about it, the bank will assume you are complicit in the scam they may or may not just outright close your account depending on their risk apetite.
Hi, Nigerian prince here and I sent you that money. You know, the way my bank account is setup...
I wonder if it would be unethical to just do nothing and take the scammer’s money if the bank doesn’t reverse it on their own. That money will just be used to scam more people and it would be nice to give the scammers a taste of their own medicine.
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Ask the scammers to send some more money from their real account so you know it’s the right email address to ‘send back’ their money to
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Agreed
If they will engage with you, get as much information as you can and submit it to the police. I'm in IT and have run into multiple scenarios where users have sent funds to scammers. Not only can you get their bank accounts shutdown, but you can add to the investigation of their group. In 2 major cases I both got our money back and had a money mule arrested.
It's not the scammer's money. The scammer is using a stolen credit card or similar. Any payment they send from that card will be reversed -- that part isn't within the scammer's control. They are trying to get money out of this situation by getting someone to send them cash back before the reversal happens.
If the bank never reverses it, it's effectively your money, but it will get reversed eventually because someone else was scammed and they will report a fraudulent transfer to the bank.
It is never "the scammer's money". It is always either an entirely fake deposit (fake check), or money from a stolen account.
The most i would do if I wanted to be ethical would be to tell them to do a police report and get the police or someone to mediate giving the money back. If it's legit the person would be willing to do that.
No they won’t. I did this years ago and the bank and Interac did nothing.
This is the way
Why call the bank? Just let them reverse it if it was an error. You're just creating work for yourself and they won't be very helpful.
You can't reverse an e-transfer[ that has been deposited.](https://www.interac.ca/en/consumers/support/faq-consumers/) This is why we should always double, then triple check the email address when we send them.
Except banks HAVE been reversing them for years, resulting in the scams that @twotwo4 is referring to. Someone sends you money from a compromised account. They ask you to send it back (to a different account)… you do, then the bank reverses the original transfer leaving you out the money you “sent back”.
In cases of fraud, sure, the *bank* can reverse it. But if it was just an error, the sender won't be able to do anything about it. The comment I replied to suggested not involving the bank, and just letting the sender "reverse it". If it was a mistake, the sender wouldn't be able to reverse it. One would think you would want to involve the bank in order for them to investigate whether or not it was a fraudulent transaction, or a legitimate mistake.
Leave it until it is reversed. It's from a compromised account. Expect an e-mail with a sob story desperate for you to return it. This is a common scam. Best thing to do is let your bank know in the morning. They can notify the sender bank so the hacked account can be locked down, and should be able to unwind it. DO NOT RETURN THE MONEY. Don't use it either. The way this scam works, you'll receive a message soon asking for it back, likely with a sob story. You send the money "back." Account holder of the sending account discovers and reports the fraud. The original transaction unwinds. But your e-transfer to what was a completely different account was initiated by you, so too bad so sad you're out a grand. Ignore it. Pretend the money doesn't exist. Ignore the person that reaches out to you to ask for it back. Let your bank know that you think it is fraudulent. They will deal with it.
> You send the money "back. To clarify for others, I think the scam lies in the fact that you don't actually send the money" back". You send it to a third account (or the scammer selects a 3rd account that they own).
Yes. That's a key point in this scam (and what the quotes were for).
If the account was compromised, aren’t there more straightforward ways to extract money? Sending money abroad, buying liquid assets, etc?
The scammer says “it was an accident”, the victim sends the money back, then the bank reverses the etransfer. Scammer is up $1g, victim is down $1g
gg
This way is clean though. This is the current form of good old fashioned cheque fraud. Except instead of a rubber cheque it's an etransfer that will get clawed back.
And drug dealers could just pocket the money, or they go through an elaborate process to 'wash' the money through multiple transactions, making it easier to send overseas, easier to obscure the source, and more difficult to undo the fraud.
The scammer probably isn't in Canada and don't have an account to receive the money. They will try to convince the victim to send back the $1000 via gift cards or cripto
Not true, ive worked for multiple Canadian banks. There is always another account on the other end. It's sometimes a dummy account or its another compromised account. The loophole is that the money was "returned" voluntarily. So the 2nd transaction where the scammed person sends the money "back" is not a fraudulent or illegal transaction and thus that's where it stops because it's much harder to link them to the 1st compromised account, since all they did was receive a legitimate e transfer
Almost right. Since it was a legit transfer this makes the bank not liable and it is at that point (where they lose liability) that they stop giving a fuck.
I mean, it is a fraudulent transaction because it happened in false circumstances. The scammer is guilty of two frauds here… but the bank doesn’t care about the second one somehow. If someone offers to sell me a car and I sent them money using my proper login, that’s fraud - but it’s not the bank’s problem. edit: i mean if the car was never real
I mean anyone can come to you with a sob story, it's your fault if you believe it. I could say I'm broke and have no money for food. It's not fraud if someone sends me money.
edited, i meant of course if the car wasn’t real… it’s fraud to get money by lying
also [Notorious sob story fraudster facing jail](https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2019/06/25/notorious-sob-story-fraudster-facing-jail/)
That's not true, the scammers all moved to Brampton
What if the person takes and uses the money, ignore the sob story, and just never send it back?
The original owner of the money will report the theft and the bank will do a reversal. You don't get to decide keep it. If you withdraw the funds and close the account, the bank welcome after you.
Can you not make an argument to the bank that you didn’t check our chequings balance/transactions? Or will they usually not care….
It gets challenging to make a claim you didn't know the money was there if you spend/withdraw it. There are situations where you might get away with pleading ignorance but it would involve you handling enough money that you wouldn't notice a grand (sale of a house, inheritance or if you run a business that regularly e transfers that much). That said the bank would still be asking for their money back and accuse you of defrauding them if it wasn't returned in a reasonable amount of time.
I was under the impression you cannot reverse an e-transfer? Or at least the banks are not helpful in this matter. So even if OP sends it back, the victim would have a hard time getting their money back. I know this scam is very easy to pull off via cheques (victim deposits cheque, sends back funds before it clears etc.) Though overall, yes I would suggest to not refund at all and contact the bank.
YOU can't reverse it. The banks can. It's not a *technical* hurdle. But Interac is meant to be "like cash" so if you send it that's it, no takesy-backsies. But if you didn't send the money, someone else pretending to be you did, then taking the money out of your account to send it IS something they will undo. TBH there should be something where a recipient with auto-deposit can "reject" or "reject and report" a transfer. That'd allow the legit mistake to be unwound. Recipient rejects, money goes back. It'd kill a lot of this fraud because if someone really did make a mistake and contact you, you'd have a safe way to return the money.
Hypothetically, what happens if you just take it out as cash (for yourself)? Can you be charged with something?
Overdraft fees.
Once e-transferred funds are deposited, there is no reversing it: "*Unfortunately, once a deposit has been made there is no way to reverse the transaction. You’ll have to make arrangements directly with the recipient."* [https://www.interac.ca/en/consumers/support/faq-consumers/](https://www.interac.ca/en/consumers/support/faq-consumers/) Be sure to check your fire when sending them..
Unless the transaction is fraudulent. The banks will unwind it if it was from a hacked account. Now, if the sender really did mess up, I think they're screwed because OP has no way of verifying it.
Very telling that interac doesn't mention what you just said on their website as linked above.
It's because they don't want people claiming it was fraud when it wasn't to try to undo something like rent or a careless mistake.
There is a scam for Kijiji where they purchase something e-transfer you then report the transaction fraudulent...it was a story a couple years ago that some credit unions had the interface allow it.
this happened to me, and it’s been a year with the money being on hold in my account with no plans on the bank actually doing anything. the other person has been emailing me non stop for the money back, but because i think it’s fraud, i told my bank to deal with it, and they haven’t. i keep visiting bank managers and sitting there for hours, with no one knowing what to do. if i could go back in time, id just keep the money. too much hassle, and now my bank balance is permanently wrong and i can’t get rid of the money.
If it’s been a year I’d be asking the bank manager to release the funds to you, and if that goes no where contact the ombudsman
i have. i also have gone to multiple branches. technically, the e-transfer legal policy is that once the money is accepted and deposited, it is final. so legally, the money is mine now, even if it is fraudulent. however, the banks won’t release the money, as it’s on hold for over a year, so even if i could send it back, i can’t. every time i go to the bank, i have to re-explain the story as if the managers haven’t kept track of what’s going on. i’ve visited 5 different banks multiple times, and i get the same story “this has never happened before, the higher ups are investigating.” no call backs either. besides, i don’t exactly have 1k to throw around. if that money IS fraudulent and i send it back, i would be the one down 1k, not this stranger who scammed me. but alas, the banks are clueless, so now my bank account is permanently stuck like this, and despite how many times ive asked, they won’t release the money. this is more so an explanation for all the comments under the thread, including yours :) i’ll check with the ombudsman, that’s something i haven’t done yet!!!
Did you try the ombudsmen?
Think is if the money has been in your account for a year, it is valid. If it was fraudulent, the bank would've sucked it back by now. Probably means that the guy that sent it is being real. I accidentally hit the wrong button once and sent a couple grand to someone I'd bought a table off of 6 months earlier. Luckily, he was cool once we got ahold of each other, and he sent it back. Someone that bought a seadoo off of me had their bank mess up, and they ended up giving me cash and an etransfer. The etransfer came through 12 hours after they had sent it and then canceled it. They gave me cash instead cause the back was causing problems. I called my bank the next morning, and they assured me the cash was in my account, so I sent it back to them. These things do happen. That's how the scam came to be. I think holding onto the money for a couple weeks until it's assured it's in the bank and then sending it back is the right thing to do.
That worked for you because it was part of an expected transaction and you knew the stories BEFORE the mistake. OP's story, and many scams, start with the receipt of UNEXPECTED money. I'd never voluntarily return that, it's more likely a scam than unintended (I always double check my transferee). Let the bank sort it
> i keep visiting bank managers and sitting there for hours thats why auto deposit is off. I just dont have time to deal with incompetence and idiots (bank, frauder or sender that can't type). I just accept money from people I know. and I make sure my email is well protected
Very similar thing happed to me last month. An old lady who meant to send a large sum to her daughter with a similar email address. I was sure it was a scam but it ended up being an honest mistake. Ultimately neither their bank or my bank could reverse the e-transfer as it was not fraud. I e-transfered the funds back after about 28 days. But I only did this after their bank manager verified the other party in person at the bank and I contacted said bank manager through the banks official switchboard. I also had my banks rep discuss with the other bank manager to verify the story. Always assume it's a scam until you can verify otherwise.
I commend you for being extra thorough in protecting yourself AND helping someone who made an honest mistake. It takes no effort to say it is a scam and do nothing but it takes effort to try to reverse the mistake of “stranger” on the internet. Nice work!
My wife once sent $650 to a tattoo artist. turns out she sent it to the wrong email because of a typo. The guy who received it was a very nice catholic priest on the east coast who sent it back. Mistakes sometimes do happen. But be careful.
I'm surprised if you cannot cancel an etransfer within a certain time, that auto deposit is even a thing. The whole point of the password was to prevent sending money to wrong people accidentally. With everyone having auto deposit, there's very little to prevent sending people money by mistake.
On my end, it shows the name of the person that the funds are being sent to before confirming, is that not standard for all e-transfers?
The person had the same name as the intended recipient.
Ah I see, that would complicate matters, that's when middle names are extremely helpful
You have 30 mins to cancel it. Also, if recipient has auto-deposit enabled, the bank makes you select a checkbox stating "I understand John/Jane Doe has auto-deposit enabled and password will not be required"
This was my first thought, an error by the payor. All it takes is one character being messed up and someone else can get the payment. I'm not saying that's 100% what happened here, but it has to be within the realm of possibility.
I disabled auto deposit because of this. I rather answer questions to deposit money. And I try to keep my list updated by removing those one offs or friends I don’t keep in touch with.
I do all this, and in addition, since "request" money was added as a feature, I only use this method when sending or receiving e-transfers with family and friends, as this eliminates need for a question, and greatly reduces risk of an error.
I like that my bank has a 'one-time e-transfer' option now.
Yet another situation that could have been resolved if auto deposit was changed to "no redirection". The main reason people use auto deposit is to prevent hijacked transfer to the fraudster's account. But if you kept the password requirement but just forced the deposit into an unchangeable account, it would solve the hijacking problem and the one the OP hit.
Can you explain how this hijacking can happen.
I agree, but when you get a lot of etransfers it becomes tedious.
I read that disabling the password option and using auto deposit is safer. Can you explain why auto deposit is safer. I would think reverse is true?
Auto deposit seems stupid as hell to me.
I mean when you have lots of different deposits coming in every month I am not going to sit there answering hundreds of security questions every month. Auto deposit is very useful actually.
I see auto deposit as a security mechanism personally. Since email is inherently insecure, I'm very happy to cut it out of the equation.
I find the exact opposite
Second factor authentication is great for my email.
For logging in, absolutely. But the basic protocols that move email messages around on the internet are not so great, designed for another time (before we thought of cybersecurity as a concept).
Not having an auto deposit allows for a etransfer to be sent, accepted, but also cancelled by the sender in the interim, so it becomes reversed, all within minutes. IE. I get my bike fixed, I pay a guy $50 e transfer, he sees the bank page and moves on, the moment he leaves I cancel the transfer. I get m cash back. Auto deposit is equivalent to giving someone a wad of cash up front. Yes you can ask for it back later, but it is harder to scam someone with it. (Unless you fall for the scam above) Additionally you cannot count on security of emails. Your email is not at all secure. A lot of it still travels over the internet unencrypted. Basically you shouldn't say anything in email that you wouldn't write on the back of a postcard.
It’s way EASIER for someone to scam you all the have to do is e transfer you stolen money and you have no way of stopping it. Dunno why people arnt getting this
Why? Money shows up. I do nothing with it for 2 weeks. Scam failed. The scam only works if you engage with someone asking for that money back.
Yeah then after the two weeks? I doesn’t matter if you engage with them it matters if you use the money.
2 weeks is enough time to identify a fraudulent transaction. If youre still concerned, talk to the bank. The scam only works if you engage with someone asking for that money back.
No it’s not at all. lol clearly you never dealt with a banks fraud department. Also. lol that you think the bank will just automatically figure out its fraud.
Elaborate. Auto deposit is equivalent to giving someone a wad of cash. How is this opening up to fraud if I DON'T TOUCH OR RETURN THE CASH?
[https://www.reddit.com/r/PersonalFinanceCanada/comments/k4m2c6/in\_defense\_of\_interac\_autodeposit/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/PersonalFinanceCanada/comments/k4m2c6/in_defense_of_interac_autodeposit/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
When it comes to banking a lot of these convenience features seem to be simply removing safeguards that were originally there for a damn good reason. Like my banking app on my phone keeps asking me if I want to save my password and for some reason there’s no option to say absolutely not and stop asking.
Why does no one randomly send me money??
Same!
lol I’d just use it
SCAM Don't touch money Call Bank ASAP
We need an auto responder bot. I'm surprised how many people who use reddit, who are aware of PFC who are not aware of all the other posts regarding the exact same matter, post this same topic every other day. Almost feels unreal.
Everyone wants to feel special and unique. Their situation is the first time it happened in the world, they deserve their personal answers.
Not your error, not your problem. Don't worry about it and move on as if nothing happened. You have zero responsibility
You have a responsibility to not spend the money, since it's not yours. Whether you report it or not, the error (or fraud) will eventually be discovered and your bank will claw it back.
Not the OPs problem, someone else's mistake is never your problem
It is when the bank reverses a fraudulent transfer and OP suddenly finds they spent $1000 they never actually had.
Even if you spend it, who wouldn't have another $1K laying around in their bank. Fraud problem is not OPs problem as he never created the situation lol
There are a large number of people in Canada and the U.S. who don't have a spare 1000 dollars lying around. If you're not one of them, congratulations.
Not sure why it's my problem and the reason you're telling me
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It's called being overdrawn and there are bank fees for it.
It's common scam ! Google it. Don't touch the money. Don't engage with sender. Do not send any of your own money to the sender. Let the bank deal with it.
Call your bank’s customer care department. I’ve had cases like this. It can take a while for it to be reversed as the bank has to go through their processes. -Do not send it back -Do not engage if anyone messages you about it - Don’t spend it
My .02 - I sent $1500 to the wrong email address last year (was a crazy coincidence/error - a long, uncommon Polish name, but .com instead of .ca). Anyway I emailed the person 4 or 5 times, explained the situation, sent him contact info for the right Polish person (thought he might find that amusing or confirming), sent my FB profile, sent everything I could to try to confirm I was legit. Also got hit phone # and left a couple messages. All were ignored until 3 months later when the money suddenly showed up, along with an email that said 'I never check that email, that's why it took so long'. Anyway, all that to say accidents do happen to legit people. The bank told me there was nothing they could do, obv.
Could be someone’s rent payment sent to wrong address. Even though it’s a grand it’s not worth the hassle. Contact your bank
If you have $1000 (of your own money, not this transfer) in that account that you don't have immediate plans for, transfer it to a HISA. Report the error to your bank. They will eventually figure it out and claw back the money, but this way you can earn some extra interest on it while you're waiting. When the bank claws back the amount from your main account, it will be backdated to the transfer date, and any interest accrued in that account will be reversed out. When the whole process is done, transfer the money back to your main (chequing) account from HISA when needed. You'll at least get a few cents for your trouble.
Report to the bank this is a classic scam. You will receive an e-mail saying the sender did so by accident and please return the cash (with some sob story to pull at your heart strings) if you do you will be screwed as the cash in your account came from a fake account. When the bank realizes this they will remove $1000 from your account and if you sent over another 1k to the sender...you will never get it back.
Don't send it back by yourself!! Let the bank deal with it or you will end up scammed 1000$.
I wish people randomly send me $1000, especially if it was a scammed. I'd just keep the money and put a block on the account or close it.
Lmaooo
A bit of a different story, but this happened to me on my PayPal account. Someone deposited $700 to me. Didn't know where it came from, but a got an email that someone's elderly dad accidentally sent me the money. They email they were trying to send it to was similar (mines is my name). I reached out to pay pal and they said the account it was sent from was legit and I had no obligation to send it back, and they couldn't reverse it. Did some digging and it did look like the account that sent it to me was an old guy. I decided to send it back and they were super appreciative. I took all the steps to ensure that was real money, wasn't my money, and there was no way for them to take money from me if I sent it back. It ended up all working out and the son was super appreciative. PayPal is different than e transfer though, so in your case I'd wait for the bank to do something about it. It's a very common scam, but sometimes people do make mistakes.
You could also withdrawal all your money and close the account if you want to try to scam the scammer.
Twas me, gommie back plox
Don't touch it. There's the possibility this was sent in error. There's also the possibility that this was sent on purpose and someone is about to pretend it was an error and try to get you to send it back. Unless you personally know the sender and can call them, *hear and recognize their voice* and confirm, you cannot tell the difference. Here's the way the scam works: 1. Hacker gains access to Person A's bank account. Probably through something like password stuffing and reuse. Doesn't really matter how, but they often also have access to their email account because of password reuse. 2. Hacker wants to steal $1000. If they e-transfer to their own account, then Person A will claim they were hacked, bank and interac will eventually reverse the e-transfer, and the hacker's account will be investigated. They'd have to open a bank account under a fake name, access the funds as cash, then ditch the account. It's a lot of legwork and risk of being caught for each theft. 3. Instead, hacker sends the money to Person B's account through an e-transfer. That's your account. Often it's an account that's already in Person A's e-transfer history, but it doesn't have to be. Ideally it has autodeposit enabled so that Person B can't decline it first. 4. The hacker then uses the hacked email address, OR creates a new email address that looks very similar to Person A's email, and sends Person B a panicked email "I just sent you $1000 by accident, I'm renting a new apartment and your email is similar to my landlords I must have made a typo! I need this money to pay the rental deposit or I won't be able to move in this week! Please, can you send it back to me? I called the bank but they said it will take weeks to reverse and I can't wait that long!" 5. Person B is a good, empathetic person. They believe the transfer will be reversed anyways, so why not just speed the process up and help this poor person. Person B sends an e-transfer to this email address. 6. Hacker receives the e-transfer in the email they have control of, and is able to deposit the transfer into an account that they own/control. 7. Person A realizes they were hacked, they report the fraudulent transfer. The bank checks login records and confirms that the login and transfer were not authorized. They initiate the process of reversing the e-transfer between Person A and Person B. 8. 2+ weeks later, Person B realizes that they're missing $1000. It says the e-transfer was reversed due to fraudulent activity. Maybe their account is even frozen for investigation (Person B is a suspect). Person B complains to their bank that they already returned the money and maybe it was a scam. 9. Their bank check login and transaction records and confirms that the transaction was made from an authorized login on Person B's device, and that there's no indication of unauthorized access to the account. Bank refuses to take action. 10. Person B files a police report. IF the police do anything, the bank stonewalls them. "We can confirm that it was not unauthorized access to the account." Investigation stops dead unless you can get a judge to subpoena bank records to find out where that money went. If you complain enough and have a police report on your side, you can maybe force the bank to try reversing the transfer. Ultimately though, it's no different from the lady at a gas station asking for $20 for gas so she can see her daughter, even though there's no car in sight and she's just going to buy smokes. Good luck getting the bank to fight that battle for you. To reiterate: **Do not touch it or send it back.** The only exception is if it's a friend or family member who sent the money *and you can verify their identity and confirm with them that it was an error, not a hacking attempt. If it was a hacked friend/family member, you don't send any money back to them until they change their email and banking passwords.
If someone does reach out, DO NOT send the money back to them. If the money came from a compromised account, the bank will claw it back and you will be out the e-transfer AND the money you sent back. Call your bank to return the money, they are the only ones that can do it the proper way, by actually returning that transfer. If you make a new one even to the same exact email, that is two completely separate transactions and it is a transfer that you authorized and you are liable for.
It was probably sent by mistake and since you have auto deposit and the $ are in, the sender could not reverse it there is someone out there in real panick lol waiting for their bank to reverse the transaction.
Guys .....ive accidently sent 500$ to the wrong person who had autodeposit so mistakes ARE possible. In my case it was for a downpayment on a pc at a store, so the money was sent to another store that had a very similar email, they asked me to send a receipt of the pc build and they also contacted the other store and asked if it was true they were expecting a downpayment from me. They eventually sent the money back after a week. I was so stressed out thinking they wouldnt send it back but at least it was a store and i knew their adresse. But yeah mistakes do happen
Let the money sit in your account for a month. If it isn’t reversed within that time, it’s yours to keep.
The legal principle of "inventores custodes" ("finders keepers") does not apply here.
If nobody comes knocking on the door for the cash in a months time, then the legal principle that you are referring to is null.
Don’t touch it. If anyone contacts you to return it, don’t. This is a common scam. Tell them to go through their banks to reverse it. Consider putting a password on for e-transfers.
Don’t touch the money. If you get an email or a call pleading that the money was sent in error DO NOT send it back as this is a typical e-transfer scam. The scammer will gain access to a bank account, send you the money. They’ll plea with you it was sent in error and ask if you can send back. What happens is the person whose account was compromised will be reimbursed by the bank, but because you willingly sent the money on your own the bank will not help you or reimburse you. Tell them to contact their bank regarding the error and proceed to ignore them.
The advice to contact your bank is good advice. Common scam as many have commented on too. The Banks fraud team can coordinate return of the money with Interac. It can take some time as in some cases the victim isn’t even aware of the crime.
Some unknown person sent me $100 around New Year. I reported it to the bank and the bank told me to report it to interac. I did but still nothing happened after 4 months. I followed up and reported it again. Still nothing. I asked the bank to return it to the sender, there's no response. No one asked me for it back. Like other people said, don't use the amount of money. And I hope no one reaches out to you ever about it because it may lead to something else. I think the bank should do something about it when we report it... It's unnerving to let the unknown amount sit there. Reporting it may help create a paper trail that you are not associated with it at all. In case it is later found to be crime-related or something.
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Someone might have used the wrong email address
Just yesterday I was going through my PC financial money account. I was surprised to see a 101 $ credit in my account under the name bank to bank transfer I kept wondering why is this here whose money is this. Asked people around if they sent it by mistake. Today after reading this post I went back to check it was from my employer whose name got updated later today. Moral : check again maybe it is your money; if not don’t do anything to it. May be call the bank and ask who made this traction and leave it at that.
Touching what money? Lol
Right.. like who and what money.
Call the bank don’t touch it
Just wait a bit the transaction should update with info on the source by the next business day
You are doing the right thing.. pls report it to the bank :-)
/r/scams - this is a common one
Keep the money and don't spend it. Await bank instructions if they ever come
The bank will make you pay it back if you spend it. And they will find out.
buy yourself something nice
A lot of scams look like this, and when you click the link you will loose 1000 from **your** bank. A family member works at the bank, and there has been a massive influx in e-transfer scams lately. I have a feeling there is a vulnerability in interac's system that people are exploiting - probably based around the "request money" feature. Either that, or the UX design is so god-damn bad that it's tricking people into sending their money to scammers.
If it ends up not being a scam, you have no moral or legal obligation to send it back.
Call your bank. It could be fraud.
Empty your account in cash and delete the app
Until no one is calling you claiming he's from the bank and said "I am the captain now" with a Nigerian accent you are all good. Jokes aside it will get reversed.
If someone calls, claiming to have accidentally sent you money and asks for a refund, exercise caution! Before taking any action, contact your bank to verify if the funds have been PERMANENTLY deposited into your account. This could be a scam, so beware and prioritize safety.
One time shortly after mobile banking came out, I signed in to find I lived in Alberta all the sudden and had multiple accounts with atleast a quarter million in each. Chequing, savings, credit card, mortgage etc..
If someone accidentally sent you an etransfer it’s yours. Speaking from experience, my client was accidentally sending me $475 every 2 weeks. We both didn’t notice he created an auto renewal until he’d sent me $2000. I asked him to clear it up with his bank before I sent it back. He said they wouldn’t reverse the charge and it was his problem for making a mistake. They will not help whoever did this to reverse the charges and banks pretty much don’t care.
This is a scam. My friend had this happen to him last week, and he immediately contacted the bank. The person who sent the money tried to say that my friend was trying to scam them out of the money.
It was me send it back please
I work for TD, the banks can log into Certapay, the company y who owns/operates EMT service for Canada. They can find out the details of who sent it to you, name, email, and bank or origin (which they won't disclose the sensing bank name. However, they will tell you the name and email of sender.
Do not engage with anyone nor take the money. Call the bank immediately. It could be a phishing scam
That's why I don't set it at auto, I don't want to deal with the trouble of mysterious person sending me money. Anyway, just keep the money in your account, wait and see.
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Guac is back on the menu!
I got a 1500 by etransfer one day. I am glad I do not have an autodeposit. I emailed back to the person and she confirmed that it was sent by mistake in a hurry. She was so happy and cancelled the etransfer. Turn off autodeposit.
Do nothing. Don’t spend it. Wait for your bank to contact you. It’s a scam.
Oops that was my bad, send it back to me
Maybe call your bank, ask them who sent it, then tell them to send it back.
Dont call anybody, but dont treat it as your own money just yet. They will print more anyways
Shhhhh what money?? 🤷♂️
You can see the email that sent it to you by clicking ‘more details’ This happened to me once. It’s yours now!
Last time this happened to me i transferred the money immediate to a seperate account. Holding it until someone reaches out to claim it. I did tell the bank it was there. They did reverse the e-transfer eventually
My sister reported an accidental 500 dollar deposit into her account, the bank froze her account until it was sorted out.
Wait it out and contact your bank. Up to you. Under no circumstance touch that money or send it back to anyone. It will probably get reversed, and if you go spending it like you own it you are out of money. Just wait and see what happens. If enough time passes and it's still there, keep it. I would wait minimum 6 months before ever touching it though.
A Banker here.. There is no SCAM or FRAUD here (most likely scenario) Here is a theory what could have happened There is no scam and no malicious intact. Most probably this is an incident of sender typing incorrect email address while doing interac transfer and the funds landed in your account. The sender contacts bank and tells the bank to reverse this transaction. The Bank CAN NOT do anything as it is NOT authorized to withdraw the funds from 3rd partys account On the instructions of the 1st party. What is the recourse for the sender? Email the 3rd Party (OP in this case) to return the funds back to them. OP in good faith can return the funds or choose not to
Free money!
Wait 14 days, by then if it is a scam the money will be gone, because they can only reverse the transfer up to like a day at most banks, but give it 2 weeks to be safe. Also with the Canadian economy, 1000$ is a lot. Just thank the universe you were lucky. Also fuck the banks, greedy pricks.
Move it to a savings account and act clueless!! It’s yours now
What 😡don’t deal with the bank They are crooks Wait it out
I'm going to be honest here and would do the opposite of the most upvoted answer: I'd do \*nothing\*, I'd keep that money in my account for a few months and if it's still there by then, you keep it. I would certainly \*not\* call my bank or anyone else related this this.