Each depositor insured to at least $250,000 per insured bank

Pine River Valley Bank, Bayfield, Colorado, 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 102102916, which is assigned to Pine River Valley Bank. The items also display the bank's logo, name and address in the lower-left corner and the statement "VOID IF OVER US $10,000.00" on the right side.

Authentic cashier's checks display the bank's logo, name and address in the top-left corner and the statement "TWO SIGNATURES REQUIRED FOR AMOUNTS OVER $5000.00" above two signature lines. A padlock icon and vertical security statement are shown in the right border.

Copies of a counterfeit item and an authentic cashier's 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:

Sandi Bardwell
Chief Operations Officer
Pine River Valley Bank
301 North Commerce Drive
Bayfield, Colorado 81122
Telephone: (970) 884-9583
Fax: (970) 884-0214
E-mail: sandi@prvb.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. 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 www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2008/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)