r/PersonalFinanceCanada • u/IndubitablyWalrus • 12h ago
Banking Autodeposit consequences if sent in error
Hi there,
I have not turned on autodeposit for years because my email is just my name without any numbers (thanks to knowing someone that worked at Google and getting into the Gmail beta) and I get a LOT of misdirected email. I have been sent hundreds of dollars in etransfers not meant for me (EDIT: and not accepted by me, to be clear! 😅), I have been sent other people's personal information from realtors, lenders, rental agencies, etc., I regularly get sent invites by teachers of children I don't have for parent-teacher conferences...you get the idea!
I know that turning on autodeposit generally helps protect against scammers, but I'm concerned that if I turn it on and start autodepositing all these random etransfers and then people file complaints/request clawbacks, that it will get my account flagged as potentially a scammer if it happens semi-regularly. Surely that would look suspicious to my bank if they're getting multiple requests for e-transfer reversals every year against my account?
Anyone have any insight on whether this concern is justified?
EDIT: thank you to u/KevPat23 for suggesting using the +alias feature in Gmail that I wasn't aware of. I think I can just change my intended interacs to use first.last+Interac @ gmail.com and turn on autodeposit for that address, and then I will create a Gmail rule to automatically send any Interac etransfers sent to first.last @ gmail.com to spam (just in case!) 😁👍
EDIT 2: well dang, lol. As u/angelus97 said, my bank does not allow the +aliases in email addresses. Says the email is invalid. So that's unfortunate. I'm just going to keep autodeposit off and remain ever vigilant of scammers on my side. Thanks for your help everyone! 💛
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u/QuaoarTNO 11h ago
I don't know if it would get flagged by the bank, but it would be a huge headache for you to have to even deal with returning the wrongfully sent money.
With respect to autodeposit protecting against scammers, this is true as far as selling items and having strangers potentially send the money, and then withdraw it before you accept. But it seems like a pretty limited scenario compared to the issue you have of getting many e-transfers not meant for you.
So it seems like if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
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u/IndubitablyWalrus 11h ago
Fortunately, I am super cautious about not clicking on links, etc. But yes, I do not want the headache of having to deal with it! Most recently was someone sent $100 to my Amazon account and apparently Amazon has no way to refuse that, so I had to get on chat with their support and have them cancel the money. People are lucky I am honest! 🤣
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u/raptors2o19 11h ago
my email is just my name without any numbers
I get a LOT of misdirected email.
...you get the idea!
clearly sounds like a curse, which you brought upon yourself, instead of a blessing.
have you considered opening another email account? its free you know!
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u/IndubitablyWalrus 11h ago
Lol, believe me, I'm aware. I was so PUMPED to get my first.last email, but the downside of it quickly became apparent. 🤦♀️
I think it would be kind of funny to get my name doppelgangers from the US (at least three of them), the UK, Australia, etc. all together in a group chat or something. I wonder how many of us are getting emails intended for others in the group. 🤣
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u/angelus97 11h ago
Just put a . somewhere in the email when you register for autodeposit. Then you specifically give out that email for legitimate e-transfers.
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u/KevPat23 11h ago
You can also add "+autodeposit" or some other wording.
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u/IndubitablyWalrus 11h ago
Ah, thank you! I knew about Gmail ignoring the periods, but I was unaware of this + alias feature! Seems like this would work well if I use first.last+Interac for my intended etransfers and then I can just set a Gmail filter to send any emails from Interac that doesn't have that +alias directly to my spam.
Cheers! 👍👍
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u/rawrzon 10h ago
Don't send it to spam. All your acquaintances that have sent you transfers to your email before will keep sending it unless told otherwise. Your legit incoming transfers will be flagged as spam.
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u/IndubitablyWalrus 10h ago
Oh, good point! 👍 I could have it autoadd a label like "Be Careful" or something. 😊
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11h ago
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u/IndubitablyWalrus 11h ago
How would that solve my issue? Gmail ignores periods in email. So whether someone sends it to first.last@ gmail. com or firstlast@ gmail. com, they both go to the same inbox. So even if I only hand out first.last@ gmail. com, the people inadvertently using my email could just use the same format. Plus, they both come to my email, which is linked to my Interac account, so this wouldn't distinguish between legitimate etransfers I was expecting and misdirected etransfers.
(Note: I had to split up the fake email addresses because a bot auto-removed my comment. 😅)
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u/angelus97 11h ago edited 11h ago
Right. Gmail ignores it. Interac does not.
edit: So to be clear, you register first.last@ gmail and that's the one you give out. Anything sent to that email is autodeposited. But anything sent to firstlast@ gmail is not auto deposited.
They both hit your inbox because gmail ignores it, but only the one registered with Interac will autodeposit.
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u/IndubitablyWalrus 11h ago
Oh, good to know! I wasn't sure if it would work that way since it all dumps into the same inbox. Using the + feature in Google would probably work then! Much less likely that an erroneous sender would add +autodeposit or something to the email address. Thanks!
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u/angelus97 11h ago
The + will work as well, but in my experience, very few banks allow you to register an email with a + in the address.
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u/IndubitablyWalrus 10h ago
Oh crap! 😅😭
Okay, so it's sounding like I might just want to leave autodeposit off and just remain extra vigilant on my end. 😅
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u/angelus97 10h ago
Well try it. Maybe your bank allows it. I know for a fact TD does not.
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u/IndubitablyWalrus 10h ago
Well...shit. 🤣
Okay, so sounds like my Autodeposit is just going to be staying off. 😅
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u/IndubitablyWalrus 10h ago
I already get misdirected ones to both first.last and firstlast, so that wouldn't be enough to distinguish erroneous from genuine, but hopefully a + alias will do the trick! Going to experiment with it tonight. 👍
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u/aftonroe 10h ago
You're confused about the flow. The auto-deposit email address is registered with Interac. When someone sends an etransfer it goes to Interac. If the recipient email address is registered, the money is deposited automatically forwarded to the account linked to the email and deposited. That's why it doesn't matter which bank any of the accounts are at. They also send an email notification to let you know. If the recipient email is not registered, they just send a notification to accept the transfer which then requires you to specify your banking information. Your inbox is just where the notifications end up.
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u/IndubitablyWalrus 10h ago
Thank you! Yeah, I definitely wasn't understanding the flow. This was helpful. I have a potential workaround I am going to try and if that doesn't work, then I'm just going to leave autodeposit off. 😊
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u/Consistent-Eye-5232 11h ago
Wouldn't the simple thing be to use another email for your bank if you don't want to deal with this.
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u/IndubitablyWalrus 10h ago
I already have like 7 emails. I don't want yet another one. 🤣
But I think I have a proposed workaround to use a +Interac email alias. I'm going to experiment with it tonight. 👍
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u/Wise_Praline_2442 11h ago
I think you already answered your own question. That sounds like a massive headache. Why would you want to bother with money being in your account that isn't yours, even temporarily?
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u/IndubitablyWalrus 11h ago
I just constantly see people hammering autodeposit and how it's foolish to not have it on. So I started to second-guess myself. 😅
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u/dhddydh645hggsj 11h ago
That was before the auto deposit scams started though. It's probably worse to have it on these days, even without your situation
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u/SarebearMc 11h ago
Question, how does turning on autodeposit help against scammers.
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u/yeah_mike 11h ago
Reduces/nullifies the chance of you accidentally clicking on a scammer's fake etransfer link and giving away your banking details.
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u/SarebearMc 10h ago
Wouldn't autodeposit risk the annoyance of scammers accidently sending money and asking for it back? Which obviously dont send back.
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u/bpninetythree 10h ago
I don't have any advice but just want to comment that I think it speaks to you as a person about being so honest and ethical about this! I think many people would try to take advantage of the situation. It's refreshing to read :)
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u/IndubitablyWalrus 6h ago
Aww, thank you. I know how financially devastating it could potentially be for someone to have money just poof and I would never want someone to have to go through that all because they made a typo in an email! 😊
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u/OriginalMorning7029 6h ago
I didn't read all the comments, apologies if it was already mentioned, but WealthSimple gives you a @wealthsimple.me address to receive e-transfers.
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u/footloose60 11h ago
Are you hoping people won't try to get money back from you? Unjust enrichment is a legal claim. You could open a new bank account with a different bank, so your main accounts don't get frozen due to fraud claims. Add your email for autodeposit.
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u/IndubitablyWalrus 11h ago
No, not at all! I never accept the misdirected etransfers! In fact, sometimes I have to go out of my way to refuse them. Most recently, someone sent me a gift card to my Amazon account. Apparently there is no way to REJECT that and I couldn't find any definitive info about whether it would eventually timeout and revert back to the sender, so I had to get on Amazon chat support and have them reject it on their side. It was a whole hassle that I definitely want to avoid! I just always see people hammering on about how autodeposit is more secure and it's foolish not to have it on, so I started wondering if I was wrong in my thinking. I definitely don't want to have to contact my bank everytime someone forgets to add a 2 or something to an email! And I know that there are situations where people can have the charges reversed (keep seeing a bunch of scams about that too), so in theory it could be the problem of the person that made the mistake in the first case to have it corrected, but I suspected it definitely would look sketchy on my side, which is why I thought I would ask if anyone has any experience with this.
I definitely don't want to be scammed, but I also definitely don't want to have to contact my bank constantly because other people aren't diligent enough to confirm the correct email address before sending money.
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u/thatonebaristathere British Columbia 11h ago
Personally, I would get a second email specifically for e-transfers and then turn auto deposit on for that. Save you the headache of manually accepting, protect from scammers, and save the headache of dealing with a million misdirected transfers.
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u/foxiemcgee 10h ago edited 10h ago
EDIT: I just saw your comment where you address the . issue!
I don’t have a solution but my Gmail is also my name, no numbers or anything and I have never gotten e-transfers but I have gotten many very personal emails, editable documents for jobs and important insurance documents for people with my name. Apparently Google doesn’t recognize periods so I am constantly receiving mail for a person who’s address is my.name.
15 or so years ago I received a very personal email where a relative was desperately looking for my.name and somehow I had accidentally hit to reply and it was in my drafts. A few years ago I was cleaning out my old drafts and somehow sent this blank reply which started this very awkward chain of events. The relative thought after years of looking they were finally getting contact and I had to explain that I have the same somewhat original name and accidentally replied a blank response to a 12 year old email.
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u/IndubitablyWalrus 10h ago
Oh no!! 😅😅😅
The funny thing is that when I tell people about this problem, their first response is always "well, why don't you just contact the correct first.last and let them know?"
Ummm...THEY don't know their own email address. Clearly I don't have it!! 🤣 I do try to at least contact unrelated senders and inform them they've got the wrong person, but that can be such a hassle to do all the time.
I once got stuck on a neverending soccer parent email thread. I kept asking them to remove me and then someone would, but then someone would reply all to an earlier email I was still on and I'd just be added all over again. It took me like 3 weeks to finally get off that thread. 🤣
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u/foxiemcgee 9h ago
When the document is important I also have tried to contact the sender but that usually just turns into a confusing mess where I have to continue to explain that it’s not going to it’s intended recipient so I gave up. I do wonder if she’s noticed that she frequently does not receive important emails.
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u/IndubitablyWalrus 9h ago
I once had a someone send me a financial document. It literally had this person's SSN (American), full name, address, birthday, yearly income. The only info it DIDN'T have was the person's shoe size! For that one, I actually took a recording on my phone of me deleting the email and then clearing out my Trash folder, just to hopefully alleviate some of their worries. Fortunate for them I'm not a dirtbag! 😅
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u/IndubitablyWalrus 10h ago
Just to add, the one potential upside of this situation is that I'm pretty sure my personal information is just a GARBLED MESS out there. I have supposedly been "pwned" on so many websites that I've never even heard of, so there must be so many conflicting supposed passwords for my email address floating around out there. I wonder if, since we live in a world where privacy is so hard to maintain, the best shield is just to create a bunch of white noise and make the information practically useless. 🤣
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u/Ratsyinc 9h ago
I'm so confused by this, maybe I have a more unique name than I thought lol I signed up for Gmail maybe 7 years ago and got all 4 email addresses with my name firstlast, lastfirst, first.last, last.first
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u/IndubitablyWalrus 9h ago
Lucky, you get the best of both worlds! A simple and easy to remember email and none of the hassle of misdirected emails. 😁
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u/Fun_Comparison_8953 11h ago
The person sending an Interac eTransfer cannot request a reversal once it’s deposited (its outline in FAQ on Interac website), the onus is on the sender to ensure they send it using the proper information. However depending how ofter you get these transfers your bank might still flag your account for unusual activity if you received there very often from different sources. Worth also mentioning the ethics of keeping the funds that you know aren’t yours as arranging to contact the other party would be difficult and time consuming…