Marine Bank, Springfield, Illinois, 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 bank's routing number of 071109406; however, the fraudulent items are dissimilar to authentic checks. The counterfeit items contain the term “CASHIER'S CHECK,” while authentic items are labeled “OFFICIAL CHECK.” The counterfeit items show an address of 470 N. Main Paza (sic), Chatham, IL 62629 and a phone number of 1-800-745-5555. Authentic official checks are blue, fading from a darker shade at the top to a lighter shade at the bottom, with black lettering. A copy of a counterfeit item and a copy of an authentic cashier's check (VOID) are attached for your review.

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

Mary Coy
Vice President, Retail Services
Marine Bank
3120 Robbins Road
Springfield, IL 62704
Telephone: (217) 726-0600
or
Ann L. Walker
Vice President, Compliance
Marine Bank
Springfield, IL 62704
Telephone: (217) 726-0615
Fax: (217) 726-0645
e-mail: awalker@ibankmarine.com

Information about these instruments 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.

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)