Greystone Bank, Raleigh, North Carolina, 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 are reportedly associated with a secret shopper scam and are included with correspondence from "Money & Shopping Insite Inc.," which is being sent from Canada.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 053112628, which is assigned to Greystone Bank, but are markedly dissimilar to authentic official checks. The counterfeit items display security statements embedded within the top and bottom borders. The words "CASHIER'S CHECK" and "DRAWER: GREYSTONE BANK" appear in the upper-right corner. The bank's name (printed twice), city, state and a telephone number, which is not associated with the bank, appear in the upper-left corner. Two signature lines appear in the lower-right corner. The bank's name is printed below the written dollar amount line. The items have a "VOID" background when copied.

Greystone Bank issues official checks, rather than cashier's checks. Authentic checks display the routing number 011007092, which is a payable-through account issued by Travelers Express drawn on Boston Safe Deposit & Trust. The checks display the words "OFFICIAL CHECK" vertically along the left side. The wording "Issued By: Traveler's Express Company, Inc., P.O. Box 9476, Minneapolis, MN 55480" and "Drawee: Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Co., Boston, Massachusetts" appear in the top center. The statement "SECURITY FEATURES INCLUDED. DETAILS ON BACK" is vertically printed above a security padlock icon within the right border. Authentic checks have one signature line.

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:

Bob Denlinger
Chief Security Officer
Greystone Bank
4700 Falls of Neuse Road, Suite 190
Raleigh, North Carolina 27609
Telephone: (919) 882-2373
Fax: (919) 847-8732

To report this scam or any other scam based in or mailed from Canada, please contact Phonebusters, which is a joint partnership between the Ontario Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Phonebusters is interested in receiving copies of scam letters, particularly those involving Canadian mailing addresses or telephone numbers. Records relating to the payment of advance fees should also be forwarded to Phonebusters. This information is used to assist in the strategic targeting of would-be fraudsters. Scam letters should be forwarded to the Phonebusters National Call Center (PNCC) as follows:

Mail:	Box 686 North Bay, Ontario, Canada P1B 8J8
Web site:	www.phonebusters.com
Telephone:	+1 (888) 495-8501 (toll-free in Canada and the USA)
Fax:	+1 (888) 654-9426 (toll-free in Canada and the USA)
E-mail:	info@phonebusters.com
Advance fee fraud (including Nigerian and lottery letters): wafl@phonebusters.com

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. 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)