The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has learned that counterfeit money orders drawn on The Monongahela Valley Bank, Inc., Fairmont, West Virginia, are currently in circulation. The counterfeit money orders have the institution's correct routing number of 051504597, but the city is misspelled as "Fairmount." The counterfeit money orders are blue-gray in color and printed on high-quality paper, while the valid money orders are printed on a light green paper. All of the counterfeit items have been for amounts of $1,000; however, the valid money orders are issued for amounts of $500 or less. An example of a counterfeit instrument and a copy of an authentic money order are attached for your review.

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

          Ms. Pam Loughery
          Accounting Department
          The Monongahela Valley Bank, Inc.
          P.O. Box 2528
          Fairmont, West Virginia 26555
          Telephone: (304) 363-4800
          FAX: (304) 366-8600

Information about these financial institutions or instruments may be forwarded to the FDIC's Special Activities Section, 550 17th Street, NW, Room F-4040, Washington, DC 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC's Web site at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2003/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts, Financial Institution Letters and other announcements through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/news/news/announcements/index.html.

Attachment (not available electronically)