Lodges and Chapters warned of potential Festive Board scam

Lodges and Chapters are being warned of a potential scam based on planning Festive Boards and collecting dining fees.

UGLE Chief Information Officer Hugh Douglas-Smith said: ”I became aware yesterday of an email titled “Automated Lodge dining returns” which appears to have been circulated to a number of ProvGMs promoting a service to ease the administration of festive boards. It would appear that whoever is behind this is offering a means of collecting dining payments through an online service. The idea sound good, my concern is the lack of transparency in terms of who is behind this and from my experience exhibits many of the hallmarks of being a potential scam.

“The service is behind a website craftier.org, that website appears to offer no information about the organisation, the service, any contact details or any terms and conditions. The lack of each of these make me suspicious that all might not be as it seems. In addition, the domain name craftier.org has all of its registration details made private, that is not uncommon, but it again is something of a red flag.

“This email provides me with an opportunity to remind everyone of the need to be cautious and be aware that there are constant attempts to gain access, grab credentials or just take your money. Fraudsters and cyber criminals are seeking ever more elaborate ways to dupe us, please be aware. If you have any concerns or want further advice, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please do make your Exec and Provincial office aware and ask them to be vigilant. The service from craftier.org may be genuine, but from what I have seen, I can’t be confident that it isn’t a scam.”