Harford Bank, Aberdeen, Maryland, 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 055001070, which is assigned to Harford Bank, and are light blue with blue print and borders. "CASHIER'S CHECK" is printed inside of a rectangle with rounded corners centered below the top border. The address "2905 Emmorton Road, Abingdon, MD 21009" is printed in black in the upper-left corner below the bank's logo and name. A "MEMO" line appears in the lower-left corner.

Authentic checks are light green with green borders and black print. "OFFICIAL CHECK" is printed inside of a rectangle with rounded corners centered below the top border. In the upper- right corner, above a padlock security symbol, are the following statements, printed on two lines: "Issued by Integrated Payment Systems, Englewood, Colorado;" and "JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Denver, Colorado." An Aberdeen, Maryland, post office box address appears in the upper- left corner below the bank's logo and name.

Copies of a counterfeit item and an authentic 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:

Ron Walker
Vice President of Information Technology
Harford Bank
8 West Bel Air Avenue
Aberdeen Maryland 21001-3200
Phone: (410) 272-5000
Fax: (410) 272-1895
Mobile Phone: (443) 243-6279
E-mail: rwalker@harfordbank.com

Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents and other counterfeit 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/2007/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)