Emails from Adrienne Vaughan, Senior Manager, External Communications, Interac Corp.
Regarding Anne Hoover and Sylvia Veith:
Thanks so much for your patience as we have been investigating both of these situations that
you have brought forward to us.
Unfortunately, we are unable to speak to the specifics of these particular cases due to customer
privacy. The bank holds the relationship with the customer and any questions related [sic] a
customer’s case should be directed to them. Any decision to recover funds on behalf of the
sender or receiver is made by their financial institution based on their knowledge of the
situation.
What we can tell you from our investigation is that during the time of the transactions our Interac
e-Transfer network was functioning normally.
While the Interac e-Transfer service is protected with multiple layers of security, making it one of
the most secure money transfer services globally, it really should be considered as an
alternative to cash or cheque.
When you send money using Interac e-Transfer, your money never actually travels by email or
text message - only notifications and deposit instructions do. The sender’s financial institution
and the recipient's financial institution transfer your funds using established and secure banking
procedures. In the instance where a transfer is deposited by an unintended recipient, for
example as a result of a compromised email or device, customers should notify their bank
immediately.
Customers should always be vigilant when they are transacting online. It’s much more than
making sure you don’t have malware on your device. It is also using strong passwords, never
sharing your passwords, ensuring your email is protected and hasn’t been compromised, being
cautious not to click on any phishing links, and ensuring that you are only transacting with
trusted websites, vendors and people.
Regarding two-factor authentication and why it isn’t mandatory for every e-transfer?
Interac​ e-Transfer uses two-step authentication. First, to receive an e-Transfer, you need to sign
into your online banking with your username and password, Touch ID or Face ID. Then you
need to provide an answer to a security question that only you and the sender know.
Interac​ e-Transfer Autodeposit is another way to pre-authenticate by registering your email
address or phone number to a specific bank account, so the sender knows who is receiving the
funds prior to sending. Upon deposit, the sender receives a confirmation of successful delivery

 within minutes. This pre-registration eliminates the need for a security question and answer in
every transaction.
It is also important that Canadians protect their email and passwords so they do not fall victim to
cybercrime and they can safely transact online.
Multi-factor authentication exists when a customer moves money online: through online banking
authentication, through email authentication, and through ​Interac​ e-Transfer as mentioned
previously.