In Canada the tell isn’t a fake fee — it’s a fake deposit. Most scam texts here want you to “sign in” to receive an Interac e-Transfer, clear a CRA matter, or release a parcel. Answer two quick questions and this checker tells you whether the message fits the pattern, gives you the official fact that gives it away, and shows you exactly how to report it. Free, anonymous, nothing to install.
Interac, the CRA, Canada Post and your bank never get you to receive money, pay, or sign in by texting you a link. So stop asking who a text claims to be from and sort it by what it wants. If an unexpected message needs you to tap a link, sign in, or move money, treat it as a scam — go to the source yourself, and forward the text to 7726.
Most scam-text advice was written for a world of fake bills — a courier “fee”, a toll “charge”, a tax “penalty”. Canada has those too, but the message doing the real damage here is the opposite of a bill: it’s a gift. A text says you’ve received an Interac e-Transfer and just need to “sign in to deposit” it. The CRA names this exact pattern — a Government-of-Canada or bank logo, a fake e-Transfer, then a link to a counterfeit sign-in portal — because it works on a reflex a fee never reaches: who hesitates to accept money?
That’s why this tool sorts a message by the ask rather than the sender. The name on a text proves nothing — sender IDs are trivially spoofed, and a fake slides into the same thread as your genuine alerts. But the ask is a fingerprint. Interac, the CRA, Canada Post and the banks have each said, publicly, that they don’t make you receive money, pay, or sign in through a texted link. So you don’t have to judge whether a message “feels” right — you only have to notice what it wants, and then go to the source yourself instead.
The reason it matters in Canada specifically: the e-Transfer is the rail. It’s used by the vast majority of Canadian adults, it’s instant and irreversible, and there is no law forcing a bank to refund a transfer you were tricked into authorising — recovery is negotiated case by case, with interception turning on the one step where the money pauses. For where every kind of scam gets reported in Canada and what your bank will and won’t refund, see where to report a scam in Canada.
Almost certainly not, if it carries a link. The Canada Revenue Agency describes this as a top pattern: a message with a Government-of-Canada or bank logo claims you've received an e-Transfer, then a link sends you to a counterfeit bank sign-in page that harvests your online-banking password. A genuine e-Transfer with Autodeposit turned on simply lands in your account — Interac says Autodeposit bypasses the email and the security-question step entirely, so there's no link to tap and nothing to sign into. If you don't use Autodeposit, open your own bank app to accept it; never tap a deposit link in a text.
No. The CRA states it will never email or text you a link to your refund, and it does not use text messages or instant messaging to start a conversation about your taxes, benefits or My Account under any circumstances. Refunds are paid by direct deposit or cheque, never through a link. A texted CRA refund, a message asking you to 'reply Y to resolve,' or an 'e-transfer from the CRA' is smishing. To check anything, log in to My Account on canada.ca yourself or call the CRA at 1-800-959-8281.
No. Canada Post says plainly that it will not charge you to track or release a delivery, and does not send unsolicited messages asking for personal or payment details. When it can't deliver, it leaves a paper delivery-notice card at your door or mailbox — it doesn't send a payment link unless you asked it to. The small 'customs' or 'redelivery' fee is just the hook to get you onto a lookalike page that captures your card number.
7726 (it spells SPAM on a keypad) is a free shortcode the major Canadian carriers support for reporting suspected scam texts. Forwarding a smishing message to it helps your provider identify the campaign and block the sender. It doesn't open a case on its own — for that, report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre — but it's the fastest single action that helps stop the same text reaching other people, and it costs nothing.
Move in minutes. An Interac e-Transfer is instant and irreversible, so call your bank's fraud line immediately using the number on the back of your card — not any number from the text — and ask them to try to recall the transfer and watch the account. Change the password for any account whose login you entered. Forward the text to 7726, screenshot it, and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501. Canada has no automatic-reimbursement rule, so if your bank refuses to refund you, escalate to OBSI at obsi.ca. Then ignore any 'recovery' contact that appears within days — that's the follow-on scam.
No — and it's careful not to pretend otherwise. The tool gives general guidance based on the published advice of Interac, the CRA, Canada Post and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre; it doesn't see your actual message. When the answer is uncertain, it tells you to treat the text as a scam and verify with the organisation directly through its official app or website. For a real human to look at a specific message, you can submit a free, confidential case review.
Every fact in this tool comes from these Canadian authorities. Click any to verify.