# Is this Interac e-Transfer a scam? Check it > Markdown version of https://joinmarka.com/en/tools/etransfer-scam-check Free tool Selling something and got a payment notice, or a buyer's message about the payment? Paste it here. The checker looks for the tactics the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre describes against sellers, and for the details Interac says give a fake notification away. ## What a real Interac e-Transfer notification looks like - It comes from notify@payments.interac.ca and names the sender's full legal name. - Its link takes you to your own bank's online banking to deposit the money, where you answer the sender's security question; with Autodeposit set up, the money is already in your account. - Money never travels by email or text: only the payment notification and the deposit instructions do. - Interac never asks for your banking password by email or text. - It has no attachment, and there is no escrow: Interac offers none. ## What to do - Check for the money in your own banking app or online banking, opened yourself, never through a link you were sent. Ship or hand over the item once you see it there. - If you weren't expecting a transfer, confirm with the sender by another channel. If you don't know the sender, don't click or reply. - Report a suspicious notification to phishing@interac.ca. - If you've lost money or shared your banking details, contact your financial institution, and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (1-888-495-8501, or online). ## Questions sellers ask ### How can I tell if an Interac e-Transfer notification is real? A real one comes from notify@payments.interac.ca and names the sender's full legal name, and its link takes you to your own bank to deposit the money. Interac never asks for your banking password by email or text and sends no attachments. Even then, the proof is the money in your account: open your banking app yourself and look. ### A buyer says the payment is pending until I send a tracking number. Is it a scam? It is a tactic the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre describes: a message or notice says a payment is pending and will be released once you provide a shipping tracking number. Sellers who ship find the notice was spoofed and no payment was pending. ### Why would a buyer ask me to pay for a business account? To take your money. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre describes “buyers” who say a problem with your account blocks their payment, that you must pay for a business account to complete the sale, and who offer to cover the fee if you pay them back through a service such as MoneyGram or Western Union. There was never a payment. ### Does the checker keep what I paste? No. On this page the check runs in your browser and the text is not sent to Marka. The API checks the text it is sent in memory and does not store it. No AI model reads it either way: the checker is a fixed set of rules. ### I've already shipped the item or sent money. What now? Contact your financial institution, and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or online. Report the notification itself to phishing@interac.ca. ## The same check as an API No key and no sign-up. Send the text as a query parameter, or POST it; add lang=fr for French. JSON by default, Markdown for Accept: text/markdown: `https://joinmarka.com/api/tools/etransfer-scam-check?text=Payment%20pending%20until%20you%20send%20the%20tracking%20number` POST with Content-Type: application/json and {"text": "…"}, or the text itself as text/plain. OpenAPI description: [https://joinmarka.com/api/tools/openapi.json](https://joinmarka.com/api/tools/openapi.json) ## Where the rules come from - [Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: merchandise fraud](https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/scams-fraudes/merchandise-marchandises-eng.htm) - [Interac: how to receive money with Interac e-Transfer](https://www.interac.ca/en/how-to-use/interac-e-transfer/how-to-receive-money-with-interac-e-transfer/) - [Interac: protect your personal payments](https://www.interac.ca/en/payments/personal/protect-your-payments/) - [Interac: a new look for Interac e-Transfer email notifications](https://www.interac.ca/en/content/life/a-new-look-for-interac-e-transfer-email-notifications/) - [FCNB: fake Interac e-Transfer notifications](https://fcnb.ca/en/news-alerts/fraud-alert-fake-interac-e-transfer-notifications) - [Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: report fraud](https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/report-signalez-eng.htm) Rules checked against these pages on October 21, 2026. ## Selling on Marka On Marka, a card sale is paid through Marka's checkout and shows in your orders: there is no payment email to take on trust. [How selling on Marka works](https://joinmarka.com/en/sell)