interac e-transfers

[fox]

This is a topic we have gotten into in several PLUG MUGs. I have always been wary of any kind of e-banking, and interac money transfers is one of them. Convenient, yes, and I have used them occasionally. But it is now coming out that the system is easy to hack, and lots of people in Canada have lost money to fraudsters as a result. (Read this story. The article suggests that the safest transfers are from one bank to another, and that's the system they have in most western countries.

Comments?

[ssfc72]

Thanks for the link to the article Mike.
At the bottom of the article are some e-transfer tips.  I certainly agree with the one that advises to avoid using baking apps on your cell phone.

[Jason]

It's not that the service is being hacked. It's that people are using weak security questions and/or no pass codes on their phones. In other words, PEBKAC. You can't protect people from intentioned ignorance.


Where I think the banks are at fault is in saying the etransfers are protected against fraud but burying in the fine print that they aren't if you don't take appropriate security and not investigating the cases where it happens. 2FA would also be a great defense and should be an available option at all banks.