The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has become aware of letters that appear to be faxed by the FDIC to financial institutions in the United States and other countries. The letters state that "information is sought pursuant to sections 5318(J) and 5318(k) of Title 31 of the United States Code, as added by sections 313 and 319(b) of the USA PATRIOT ACT OF 2001 (Public Law 107-56)."

The letters also state, in part:

"As part of our oversight duties over banks operating in the United States, it is our
statutory responsibility to ensure that foreign banks which maintain correspondent
accounts with banks in the United Sates are up to date with their Certification."

Recipients are asked to complete a form (attached as a second page to the fraudulent fax) and return the completed form by fax to a telephone number provided. The letters are signed by "Ms Rosaline Smith, For and on Behalf of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation."

The letters are fraudulent and were not sent by the FDIC. Financial institutions should NOT respond to the fraudulent request for information and should NOT, under any circumstances, forward any information to the fax telephone number.

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. Questions 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 http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2007/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Distribution: FDIC-Supervised Banks (Commercial and Savings)