Peoples Bank of Louisiana, Amite, Louisiana, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit checks bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 065403477, which is assigned to Peoples Bank of Louisiana, Amite, Louisiana. The counterfeit items are dissimilar to authentic checks, with a different layout, style and font. A copy of a counterfeit item and an authentic check (VOID) are attached for your review.

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

John Ballard
Senior Vice President
Peoples Bank of Louisiana
P.O. Box 669
Amite, Louisiana 70422
Telephone: (985) 748-9476
Fax: (985) 748-5278
jballard@pbla.net

or

Russell Conger
President and Chief Executive Officer
Peoples Bank of Louisiana
P.O. Box 669
Amite, Louisiana 70422
Telephone: (985) 748-9476
Fax: (985) 748-5278
rconger@pbla.net

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. 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 website 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.

Attachment (not available electronically)

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)