Oshawa Woman Loses $3,500 in E-Transfer Scam

An Oshawa, Ont., woman who was trying to pay $3,500 for a condo rental in Mexico says her Interac e-Transfer was intercepted and the funds were redirected to a different account.

Tracy Barill, recently retired, planned a trip with her husband this spring. A person in Saskatchewan had a condo for rent in Mexico and asked Barill to send almost $3,500 to secure it.

Barill e-transferred the funds to the correct address provided but was shocked to find out that the email account of the receiver was hacked, and the money went to an unknown account.

She had to pay twice for the trip and learned that e-transfer fraud is a growing concern in Canada.

Experts recommend precautions like using auto-deposit, strong security questions, dual-factor authentication, and real-time alerts to protect against email fraud.

Barill, now wary of e-transfers for larger amounts, hopes others can learn from her experience.

According to the source: CP24.