I'm new to shell scripting (very new): this is my first effort!

I'm trying to write a script that logs into server, gives it a password, then moves files via scp. I have this:

sshpass -p $PASSW scp [scp-opts] $FILE $LOGIN@servername:$DEST

where $FILE and $DEST are command line args, and $PASSW and $LOGIN are defined in .bashrc.

I know how to read arguments off the command line, but I want to be able to pass '-r' to scp, so I can transfer directories. I've been told that getopts handles options, but since I only want to use '-r', and nothing else, is there a good way to avoid using getopts?

Also, $PASSW is the password, in plain text. It's defined in my .bashrc. Is there a safer way to store it, and still use it as an argument to scp?

If there's a better place to post (a LearnShell reddit) let me know and I'll ask them.

Thanks!