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

First Bank, Creve Coeur, Missouri, has reported to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that counterfeit cashier's checks are in circulation. The counterfeit instruments are drawn upon the bank's account at Citibank, N.A., New York, New York; however, the correct routing number of 022000868 is not displayed. In addition, "Official Check" is printed in the lower left-hand corner of the authentic checks, while in the counterfeit items, "Cashier's Check" is printed in the upper middle portion of the check. A copy of a counterfeit check and a copy of an authentic official check (void) are attached for your review.

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

Ms. Gail Williams
Assistant Vice President, Fraud Prevention and Investigations
First Bank
600 James S. McDonnell Blvd.
Hazelwood, Missouri 63042
Telephone: (314) 592-6851
Fax: (314) 592-6853

The Honesdale National Bank, Honesdale, Pennsylvania, has also reported to the FDIC that counterfeit cashier's checks are in circulation. The counterfeit instruments are drawn upon the bank; however, the only similarity between the authentic checks and the counterfeit checks is that both display the bank's routing number of 031308535. A copy of a counterfeit check and a copy of an authentic official check (void) are attached for your review.

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

Ms. Kathy Enslin
Vice President of Operations
The Honesdale National Bank
733 Main Street
P.O. Box 350
Honesdale, Pennsylvania 18431
Telephone: (570) 253-3355
Fax: (570) 251-9519

Information concerning these financial institutions or 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, Financial Institution Letters and other announcements through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/news/news/announcements/index.html.