Counterfeit cashier's checks drawn on Peoples Bank, NA Marietta, Ohio, are reportedly in circulation

eoples Bank, N.A., Marietta, Ohio, 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 044202505, which is the routing number for Peoples Bank, N.A. The counterfeit items and the authentic checks are similar. However, authentic cashier's checks have small triangles printed to the left end of the lines for date, pay to the order of, and dollar amount. Additionally, authentic instruments display the bank's telephone number in fine print to the right of the bank logo. The counterfeit items do not display the bank's telephone number. 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:

Teresa Pyles
Security Officer
Peoples Bank, N.A.
P.O. Box 738
Marietta, OH 45750-0738
Telephone: (740) 376-7136
Fax: (740) 374-6167
Email: tpyles@pebo.com

Information about 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 www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2005/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Michael J. ZamorskiDirector
Division of Supervision and Consumer Protecti