Counterfeit official checks drawn on the Bank of America account of Farmers State Bank, Pittsfield, Illinois, and on the Northern Trust Bank, National Association, Phoenix, Arizona, are in circulation

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has learned that counterfeit bank drafts drawn on the Bank of America account of Farmers State Bank (Winchester Branch), Pittsfield, Illinois, are currently in circulation. The counterfeit instruments include the correct routing number of 081000032. While the counterfeit items display a design similar to the bank's genuine checks, they are inconsistent in the use of print style and font size for the draft number. Attached for your review is an example of a counterfeit item.

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

Ms. Tammy Lind
Assistant Cashier
Farmers State Bank
108 East Adams
Pittsfield, Illinois 62363
Telephone: (217) 285-5616
FAX: (217) 285-4645

In addition, Northern Trust Bank, National Association, Phoenix, Arizona, has notified the FDIC that counterfeit cashier's checks drawn on its San Francisco Branch are currently in circulation. The counterfeit instruments include a fraudulent routing number of 9876543210 and do not display the bank's logo. An example of a counterfeit check is attached for your review.

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

Ms. Sally M. Beliveau
Deposit Operations Manager
Northern Trust Bank
2398 East Camelback Road, Suite 400
Phoenix, Arizona 85016
Telephone: (602) 468-2638
FAX: (602) 912-8672

Information about these financial institutions or instruments may be forwarded to the FDIC's Special Activities Section, 550 17th Street, NW, Room F-4040, Washington, DC 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC's Web site at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2003/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts, Financial Institution Letters and other announcements through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/news/news/announcements/index.html.

Michael J. ZamorskiDirector