Guaranty Bond Bank, Mount Pleasant, Texas, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit checks bearing a name similar to the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 111915327, which is assigned to Guaranty Bond Bank. However, authentic cashier's checks issued by Guaranty Bond Bank display the routing number 051900353, which is assigned to Branch Banking and Trust Company (BB&T), Charleston, West Virginia. The counterfeit items bear the name "Guaranty Bank," and the format, style and layout of the counterfeit items are dissimilar to authentic checks. A copy of a counterfeit item and an authentic official check (VOID) are attached for your review.

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

Stan Garrett
Senior Vice President and Cashier
Guaranty Bond Bank
100 West Arkansas Street
Mount Pleasant, Texas 75455
Telephone: (903) 572-9881
Fax: (903) 572-6150
sgarrett@gnty.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 Web site at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2005/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)