Ch. 3, Ep. 3: Online marketplaces and how to use them (safely)

Did you know eighty-five per cent of Canadians participate in the second-hand economy? We shopped and swapped our way to a whopping twenty eight point five-billion dollars worth of goods in 2017. That’s according to the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada.

And online marketplaces — where ordinary people (and startup businesses) can list goods and services to buy and sell? They just seem to keep growing and growing.

Welcome to From Dollar One, presented by Interac.

In this episode, we’re talking about selling through online marketplaces — securely.

For an entrepreneur, these marketplaces represent an enticing opportunity. They can be an effective way to connect with your growing customer base — especially for those  who are just getting off the ground.

But there are a few fraudsters out there — people looking to take advantage of sellers like you. So it pays to protect yourself.

That means taking precautions. Like meeting buyers in a safe place. In some cities, local police offer monitored safe spaces where people can go to make exchanges.

You can also use Interac e-Transfer to make marketplace selling safer (not to mention easier), too.

Using Interac e-Transfer helps you avoid some of the payment methods scammers like to use when they’re posing as buyers — like counterfeit cash, and fake cheques and bank drafts.

Another safety tip? If you have Interac e-Transfer Autodeposit set up, the payments you receive will be directly deposited into your bank account, following standard bank fraud checks — with no additional steps or passwords needed. That can help prevent email interception fraud.

If you are using Interac e-Transfer with a security question and answer, make sure it’s a strong one that can’t easily be guessed or discovered – and make sure you share it through a safe channel, like in person. Not somewhere it can be intercepted, like your email.

And finally, to be extra sure you have received the money you’re supposed to, check your bank account balance before you send the buyer on their way.

There’s more to learn! Visit Interac.ca/dollarone to build up your knowledge about tips to help keep your business secure.

You can also sign up for our free newsletter, as well as get access to resources for Canadian entrepreneurs.

Like a digital security checklist — which we’ll be talking about in our next episode. See you then!