Counterfeit cashier’s checks drawn on People’s Bank, Bridgeport, Connecticut, are in circulation

People's Bank, Bridgeport, Connecticut, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit cashier's checks bearing the institution name “People's Bank” are in circulation.

The authentic and counterfeit checks are very similar with the exception of a few details. People's Bank authentic cashier's checks have the bank's name in the upper left corner of the check. The counterfeit cashier's checks also have the name in the upper left corner of the check; however, the font is smaller on the counterfeit checks. The counterfeit items use a simple five-point star before and after the name of the payee and in the amount, while the authentic cashier's checks use a more elaborate star symbol. Also, the authentic cashier's checks are grey in color; the counterfeit items are beige/tan in color. The counterfeit items display the proper routing number of 221172186 for People's Bank.

Attached for your review is a copy of a People's Bank authentic cashier's check (void) and a copy of a counterfeit instrument.

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

Kim L. Syrop
Supervisor
Corporate Fraud Investigation
People's Bank
850 Main Street
Bridgeport, Connecticut 06604
Telephone: (203) 338-7833
Fax: (203) 338-5099
klsyrop@peoples.com

Information concerning these instruments may be forwarded to the FDIC's Special Activities 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/2004/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