Nov 17, 2020
Newsletter #5

Hi Member,

Amidst the reminders and regular news tidbits, this time we pause to reflect on the loss of a bedrock member of the Royal Arcanum.

In Memory of Donald E. Ferry, Jr.

It is with a heavy heart that we share that our friend and Home Office colleague Don Ferry Jr. passed away on Monday afternoon, November 9. Don worked in the Home Office for 29 years, primarily in the member service department, and was very well known for his ceaseless help to our members. He was also an active fraternalist who loved to share his Royal Arcanum knowledge and fervor. He served on many levels within the state level as Grand Regent of Massachusetts and held multiple positions within the Supreme Council, most passionately on the Junior Committee and as a member of the Supreme Council Color Guard. In 2014 Don was inducted as a member of the Legion of Honor. He was extremely proud of this achievement, and we were all very proud of him.

Don will be missed dearly in the home office and throughout the breadth of our membership as an inspiration and as a caring friend who left us far too early.

A Message From
Executive Committee Member Carl Krzystofczyk

The weather patterns are changing and beginning to bring the change of seasons across our continent. As the season turns and we direct our thoughts to celebrations of remembrance and thankfulness, we're keenly aware of the loss of normality this year: our celebrations will likely occur without the normal gathering of family and friends. Keep your hopes up! Promising news of major progress in finding a COVID-19 vaccine has come out recently, as has the CDC's confirmation that wearing masks greatly helps reduce the risk of transmission both for those who unknowingly have the COVID infection and for those who do not. Dining and gathering together with groups of people outside your "bubble" is a hotspot for spreading infections, so please be careful in all indoor settings this autumn and winter.

Still, we have to remember our core values, and especially remember the needy in our communities. Many charitable organizations are hurting from fewer donations of funds and goods. Many organizations that help the homeless are struggling to help their clients during the pandemic. In our area, the PADS shelters have been suspended due to concerns about the virus, with some homeless organizations struggling to fund hotel rooms for the needy. Several organizations have suspended or curtailed what they will accept as donations due to the heightened concerns of passing on infections.

Please continue to encourage your members and councils to help out! Make or increase your monetary donations if you can. Remember that the International Fraternal Service Program will reimburse your council up to $1,000 per year for qualified donations, and both a subordinate council and a grand council is eligible for the reimbursement. Our Fraternalism in Action program can help your council gain funds through hands-on charitable work, too (please be sure to do so safely).

Don't forget to keep in touch within your council. Our past newsletters described a few ways to do so through virtual meetings -- why not try one soon?

Keep safe and keep promoting the Royal Arcanum!

Yours in V.M.C.,

Carl Krzystofczyk
Executive Committee Member

Scholarship application reminder

Applications are being accepted for the Royal Arcanum competitive scholarships and non-competitive grants. Don't delay, make sure members who are eligible apply now!

To apply, call us today at 1-888-ARCANUM or visit our web site's Forms area to find the application forms.

Applications are due by December 31, 2020. Please include a photograph of yourself in your application that we can use for advertising winners.
All components of the application must be submitted and completed by March 31, 2021.

Protecting email addresses

Have you ever gotten an email from someone pretending to be somebody else? Or worse, have you ever been told that somebody hacked your email? It's relatively easy for this to happen. But how does it happen, and how can you help prevent it?

How it can happen

If a hacker gets a hold of any email that has your name, they can create an email account using their own email address but using your name. This doesn't mean your account was hacked, they are just trying to impersonate you. All they have to do is set up their email app to substitute your name, but continue to use their email address. They will then send emails to your friends and family, pretending to be you, and see if anybody replies to them.

How do they get your name and email in the place? The most common way is that they get forwarded an email that others have sent along with a long list of email recipients. For example, let's say you get emailed a joke you find funny, and you forward it to everyone on your email list. One or more people whom you send it to do the same, forwarding it to everyone in their list. After this is done a few times, someone might intercept the email, and they now have the names and email address of everybody from your email list!

How to help prevent email impersonations

One of the easiest ways to prevent this is to refrain from forwarding such emails to everyone on your list. You can still share the email if you want, but take the time to remove the previous email header that show the email names and address from the email you received.

You can also change the way you send an email with a long list of names. Instead of including a lot of people in the TO or CC sections of the email, add them in the BCC section (Blind Carbon Copy). Those who receive the email will not see any of the names and addresses of those in the BCC list, so they won't be able to steal the email names and addresses.

If you suspect that an email you receive isn't really from the person you think it is, there are a few simple ways to check.

If you get an email from someone and it doesn't seem like the kind they normally send, check the email address of the email you received. If it isn't the email you normally use from that person, it may be a hacker trying to impersonate someone.
Send a new email to the person you received the suspect email instead of replying to them, using the email address you have used in the past. Ask them if they sent you the email. You might also contact them in some other way, such as a message or calling them. By starting with a fresh message, you can insure you aren't writing to a hacker.

With these few easy steps, you can help prevent the spread of email hacking.

Do We Have your Members' Email?

We have over 100 members receiving our newsletters! Perhaps there are members in your council that aren't yet getting these emails. Why not send us a list of your member names & emails for us to add to our list. We're happy to separate out duplicate emails, so no need for you to worry about that. And should one of your members decide they don't want to receive emails, remember that each member can choose to unsubscribe at any time. Send us your members email addresses today!