RCMP warn of Interac email refund scam

RCMP Alberta - Stettler RCMP has become aware of a 'new' scam involving personal email. A recipient will receive an email that will appear to come directly from Interac advising of a refund owed back to the recipient and provide a deadline to receive the money.

It is recommended that if you're not expecting any type of money transfer via Interac E-Transfer to do the following:

• Contact the 'refunder' directly through another medium (ie. phone, a different email account or attend in person if possible)
• Do not open any attachments in the email
• Do not click any links attached to the email
• Do not provide any personal details via email in a response

Although there are a variety of scams targeting people via email/regular mail/phone, the following are some commonalities to be aware of:

• They often involve a sense of urgency (ie. a deadline, an emergency or expiration date). This is intended to get the victim to act without thinking things through or conducing their own research into the subject matter.
• It is often disguised as something legitimate, but will vary from how the legitimate institute typically operates. (ie. An email scam stating that CRA is sending the police to collect on an outstanding tax bill - the police don't act in this capacity and CRA sends their correspondence through the mail, not email).
• The item being offered seems too good to be true. (ie. The Stars Lottery email scam where the victim is told they've won a significant prize but needs to pay in order to receive it).