Dear Brethren,

Once again, as the holidays and the season for giving approaches, please be ever vigilant for hackers, spam and outright fraudulent activities aimed at deceiving you into releasing money or personal information for an alleged "good cause".  The hidden perpetrators of these scams are increasing their attempts at deluding you into releasing your personal and confidential financial information.

Recently, the President of the Trustees of the Masonic Hall and Home received an appeal to buy gift cards for the Grand Master. The appeal allegedly came from the Grand Master, which has been verified as totally false.  See the file copied below. A key giveaway is the tell-tale sign found in the sender's e-mail address, which does not match the legitimate address.

Please pass the word to all of your members to guard against becoming a victim.  If you should receive similar appeals or you are suspicious of a robo-call, text message or other correspondence; please call the Grand Secretary's Office, the Masonic Care Community, the Masonic Medical Research Institute, or the Masonic Brotherhood Fund, directly to verify authenticity. Never make contact using the link, email or telephone number included in the suspicious communication.  Should you run into a serious problem with one of these con-artists, please do not hesitate to contact the Grand Lodge Committee on Law Enforcement at grtwhthntr810@gmail.com, they can help. 

May your holidays be of good genuine cheer and remain safe.

Grand Lodge F & AM State of NY

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Example of Fraudulent E-mail: