Alert for recent scam and deceptive e-mails
Grand Lodge of New York about 1 month ago

Dear Brethren:

Please continue to be vigilant and cognizant of fraudsters who seek to prey on the members of our beloved fraternity. Especially as the Holidays approach, it seems that the onslaught of scams and other acts of deception have increased.

Recently, several of our brethren have received unsolicited requests for gift cards allegedly from the Grand Master using a phony e-mail address. One such attempt was this e-mail message copied below:

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---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: MW STEVEN ADAM RUBIN
Date: Sun, Dec 1, 2024 at 6:52 PM
Subject: Re: Schedule weekend time
To:

I am in a conference meeting right now and will be working until
midnight, but I need you to get me some gift cards. Could you pick up
a few Apple Gift cards for me? When I'm done with the meeting, I will
reimburse you.

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Be on guard against such bogus requests and always verify using a trusted means of communication with the real brother seeking aid and never respond to the phony sender's e-mail address.

With kind fraternal regards,

Richard W. Bateman, GP
Assistant Grand Secretary