Citizens State Bank, New Baltimore, Michigan, has reported to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that counterfeit personal money orders bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the proper routing number of 072410987; however, the fraudulent items are markedly dissimilar to authentic personal money orders. The counterfeit items display the bank name in the upper-left corner, while authentic personal money orders display the bank name in the lower-left portion of the personal money order. The counterfeit items are printed on a green background, while authentic instruments are printed on a tan background with a blue border. A copy of a counterfeit item and a copy of an authentic personal money order (VOID) are attached for your review.

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

Marie Couch
Security Officer
Citizens State Bank
51066 Washington Street
New Baltimore, Michigan 48047
Telephone: (586) 725-2291
Fax: (586) 725-6240
mcouch@mycommunitybank.com

Information about these instruments may be forwarded to the FDIC's Special Activities Section, 550 17th Street, N.W., Room F-4040, 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/2004/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 online copies of fraudulent instruments or copies of the genuine instruments that have been counterfeited. This is to avoid attempts by others to use the electronic versions of these instruments to facilitate additional fraud. Printed copies of fraudulent instruments are mailed with the Special Alert letter to the financial institutions on the letter's distribution list (generally, FDIC-supervised banks - commercial and savings). Printed copies of the Special Alert and its attachment(s) may also be obtained from the FDIC's Public Information Center, 801 17th Street, NW, Room 100, Washington, DC 20434 (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)