First State Bank (also known as 1st State Bank), Saginaw, Michigan, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit official checks bearing the institution?s name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 011007092, which is a payable-through account at Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company, Boston, Massachusetts. The counterfeit items display the words "OFFICIAL CHECK" in the upper-left side above the word "REMITTER." The items also have security feature descriptions embedded in the top border, and the words "Check No." are printed in the upper-right side above the "Check Date" and "Check Amount" boxes.

Authentic checks display the words "OFFICIAL CHECK" on the upper-right side, and security feature descriptions are printed below the top border. A remitter line is printed in the lower-left corner, and "DRAWER: 1ST STATE BANK" appears above the official signature line in the lower right corner.

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:

Tara Franz, AAP
Deposit Services Manager
1st State Bank
4805 Towne Centre, Suite 100
Saginaw, Michigan 48603
Phone (989) 596-0832
Fax (989) 799-7648
E-mail: taraf@1stStatebk.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. 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/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)