Counterfeit cashier's checks drawn on First Federal Savings & Loan Association of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, are reportedly in circulation

First Federal Savings & Loan Association of Charleston, Charleston, South 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 display the proper routing number of 253271945, which is the routing number for First Federal Savings & Loan Association of Charleston. The counterfeit items and the authentic checks are similar in appearance. However, authentic checks have a decorative border framing the check. Counterfeit items do not have this border. Additionally, counterfeit items underscore check information which is not displayed on authentic instruments. Copies of a counterfeit item and an authentic cashier's check (VOID) are attached for your review.

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

Robert C. Bailey
Senior Vice President
First Federal Savings & Loan Association of Charleston
2440 Mall Drive
600 Paces Summit
Charleston, South Carolina 29406
Telephone: (843) 529-5806
Fax: (843) 529-5929
Email: rbailey@firstfederal.com

Information about these instruments may be forwarded to the FDIC's Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Section, 550 17th Street, N.W., Room F-4040, 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 http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2005/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit http://www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Michael J. ZamorskiDirector
Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection