Special Alert: SLS00327

BNC National Bank, Phoenix, Arizona, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit cashier's checks bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 122105896, which is assigned to BNC National Bank, but are dissimilar to authentic cashier's checks. The counterfeit items display the words "CASHIER'S CHECK" in the top center and a commercial entity's name and address in the upper- left corner.

Authentic checks display the routing number 096016765. The words "CASHIER'S CHECK" are displayed in the lower-left corner above the phrase "PAYABLE THROUGH: FIRSTSTAR BANK OF MINNESOTA, NA, ST. PAUL , MN ." Authentic checks have scroll-pattern borders on all sides, and security feature descriptions are printed above the top border.

Copies of a counterfeit item and an authentic check (VOID) are attached for your review. Be aware that the appearance of counterfeit items may be modified and that additional variations are possible.

Any information you have concerning this matter should be brought to the attention of:

Chris McCallum
BNC National Bank
VP Deposit Operations Manager
2425 E. Camelback Road Ste 100
Phoenix, Arizona 85016
Telephone: (602) 852-3502
Fax: (602) 852-3550
Email: CMcCallum@bncbank.net

Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents and other fraudulent activity may be forwarded to the FDIC's Cyber-Fraud and Financial Crimes Section, 550 17th Street, N.W., Room F-4004, Washington, D.C. 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov. Information related to federal deposit insurance or consumer issues should be submitted to the FDIC using an online form that can be accessed at http://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC's Web site at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2006/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Attachment (not available electronically)

NOTE: As a security precaution, the FDIC does not post to its Web site electronic images of fraudulent items or authentic checks that have been counterfeited. This is to avoid attempts by others to use these instruments to facilitate additional fraud. Financial institutions can view images of the fraudulent items and authentic checks (marked as VOID) using the FDIC's free, secure Web site, FDICconnect. (See more information about FDICconnect at http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2006/fil06032.html.) Printed copies of each Special Alert and its attachment(s) may also be obtained from the FDIC's Public Information Center (telephone: 1-877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200; fax: 703-562-2296; or e-mail: publicinfo@fdic.gov).

Distribution: FDIC-Supervised Banks (Commercial and Savings)

North Fork Bank, Mattituck, New York, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that money orders were stolen. These instruments display the routing number 021407912, which is assigned to North Fork Bank. Serial numbers on the stolen money orders range from 81524101 to 81524200.

Any information you have concerning this matter should be brought to the attention of:

Edward Hausdorf
Senior Vice President and Director of Security
North Fork Bank
275 Broadhollow Road
Melville, New York 11747
Phone: (631) 531-2910
Fax: (631) 531-2748
E-mail: ehausdorf@nfb.com

Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents and other fraudulent activity may be forwarded to the FDIC's Cyber-Fraud and Financial Crimes Section, 550 17th Street, N.W., Room F-4004, Washington, D.C. 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov. Information related to federal deposit insurance or consumer issues should be submitted to the FDIC using an online form that can be accessed at http://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC's website at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2006/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) of Canada has published the attached "Warning Notice" (Issue No. 72), which contains the following names of entities recently brought to OSFI's attention:

• Allied Financial Trust, Toronto, Ontario (www.aftservice.com)
• Century Funding, Key West, Florida
• Coopérative d'épargne et de Crédit des Commercant EF (www.ceccef.EU)
• Euro-Amro Bancorp Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia
• Maritime Financial Trust, Toronto , Ontario (www.mftboc.com)

Warning Notice No. 72 states that the names listed are not authorized federally regulated financial institutions (Canadian) and may be part of advance fee scams (see also OSFI's Warning Notice No. 23, dated February 2002). These entities, or persons purported to represent the entities, are not insured by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC). Any proposed transactions involving these entities should be viewed with extreme caution.

Each "Warning Notice," beginning with Issue No. 1 through OSFI's latest "Warning Notice," may be found at: http://www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/osfi/index_e.aspx?ArticleID=166.

To report any scam based in or mailed from Canada , please contact Phonebusters, which is a joint partnership between the Ontario Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Phonebusters is interested in receiving copies of scam letters, particularly those involving Canadian mailing addresses or telephone numbers. Records relating to the payment of advance fees should also be forwarded to Phonebusters. This information is used to assist in the strategic targeting of would-be fraudsters. Scam letters should be forwarded to the Phonebusters National Call Center (PNCC) as follows:

Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents and other fraudulent activity may be forwarded to the FDIC's Cyber-Fraud and Financial Crimes Section, 550 17th Street, N.W., Room F-4004, Washington, D.C. 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov.

Information related to federal deposit insurance or consumer issues should be submitted to the FDIC using an online form that can be accessed at http://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC's Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2006/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Attachment: Can be found at http://www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/app/DocRepository/1/eng/consumer/notices/Warning_Notice_72_e.pdf 48k (PDF Help)

Distribution: FDIC-Supervised Banks (Commercial and Savings)

American State Bank, Lubbock, Texas, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit official checks bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items are associated with a lottery scam and are accompanied by correspondence sent from "Mega Win International" with an address in Las Vegas , Nevada . The notification states that the recipient has unclaimed prize money and includes a check to cover processing fees. The notification letter reflects a telephone number with a "778" area code, which is assigned to Vancouver , British Columbia .

The counterfeit items include the routing number 051900353, which is assigned to Branch Banking and Trust Company (BB&T), Winston Salem, North Carolina. American State Bank issues official checks through an account held at BB&T. The counterfeit items are dissimilar to authentic official checks in style, font and layout. The counterfeit items display security wording embedded within the top border. Centered at the top are the words "OFFICIAL CHECK" printed inside a rectangular box, which is directly below the name "American State Bank."

Authentic checks include security wording along the top edge of the checks. The checks also have a watermark image of an eagle landing on the letters "ASB," surrounded by a circle, in the center portion of the check.

Copies of a counterfeit item and an authentic check (VOID) are attached for your review. Be aware that the appearance of counterfeit items can be modified and that additional variations may be presented.

Any information you have concerning this matter should be brought to the attention of:

Vicky McKinney
Vice President and Compliance Officer
American State Bank
1401 Avenue Q
Lubbock, Texas 79408
Telephone: (806) 741-2548
Fax: (806) 472-3516
E-mail: vickym@asbonline.com

To report this scam or any other scam based in or mailed from Canada , please contact Phonebusters, which is a joint partnership between the Ontario Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Phonebusters is interested in receiving copies of scam letters, particularly those involving Canadian mailing addresses or telephone numbers. Records relating to the payment of advance fees should also be forwarded to Phonebusters. This information is used to assist in the strategic targeting of would-be fraudsters. Scam letters should be forwarded to the Phonebusters National Call Center (PNCC) as follows:

Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents and other fraudulent activity may be forwarded to the FDIC's Cyber-Fraud and Financial Crimes Section, 550 17th Street, N.W., Room F-4004, Washington, D.C. 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov. Information related to federal deposit insurance or consumer issues should be submitted to the FDIC using an online form that can be accessed at http://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC's website at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2006/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Attachment (not available electronically)

NOTE: As a security precaution, the FDIC does not post to its Web site electronic images of fraudulent items or authentic checks that have been counterfeited. This is to avoid attempts by others to use these instruments to facilitate additional fraud. Financial institutions can view images of the fraudulent items and authentic checks (marked as VOID) using the FDIC's free, secure Web site, FDICconnect. (See more information about FDICconnect at http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2006/fil06032.html.) Printed copies of each Special Alert and its attachment(s) may also be obtained from the FDIC's Public Information Center (telephone: 1-877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200; fax: 703-562-2296; or e-mail: publicinfo@fdic.gov).

Distribution: FDIC-Supervised Banks (Commercial and Savings)

Financial institutions have contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that fraudulent checks bearing the name Horizon Bank, Arlington , Texas , and routing numbers assigned to various other financial institutions are in circulation. There are no active federal- or state-chartered financial institutions with the name Horizon Bank operating in Texas .

Fraudulent items display a logo, which consists of a darkened triangle overlaid with half of a sunburst shape. "Horizon Bank, Arlington , Texas ," appears to the right of the logo. The dollar amount is displayed in the center of the item in large, block numbers. A notice to customers is printed in the top-left corner, with the "TO THE ORDER OF" displayed in the bottom-left corner. The phrase "OFFICIAL CHECK" is shown vertically along the left edge.

A copy of a fraudulent item is attached for your review. Be aware that the appearance of fraudulent items can be modified and that additional variations may be presented.

Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents, and other fraudulent activity may be forwarded to the FDIC's Cyber-Fraud and Financial Crimes Section, 550 17th Street, N.W., Room F-4004, Washington, D.C. 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov. Information related to federal deposit insurance or consumer issues should be submitted to the FDIC using an online form that can be accessed at http://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC's website at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2006/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Attachment (not available electronically)

NOTE: As a security precaution, the FDIC does not post to its Web site electronic images of fraudulent items or authentic checks that have been counterfeited. This is to avoid attempts by others to use these instruments to facilitate additional fraud. Financial institutions can view images of the fraudulent items and authentic checks (marked as VOID) using the FDIC's free, secure Web site, FDICconnect. (See more information about FDICconnect at http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2006/fil06032.html.) Printed copies of each Special Alert and its attachment(s) may also be obtained from the FDIC's Public Information Center (telephone: 1-877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200; fax: 703-562-2296; or e-mail: publicinfo@fdic.gov).