Counterfeit cashier's checks drawn on Merchants & Southern Bank, Gainesville, Florida, are reportedly in circulation

Merchants & Southern Bank, Gainesville, Florida, 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 051900353, which is the routing number for the clearing bank for Merchants & Southern Bank. The counterfeit items and the authentic checks are similar. However, the counterfeit checks have the words "Merchants & Southern Bank" printed on the amount line just before the amount and on the Drawer line. The counterfeit check is also missing the dark shading along the top of the MICR line and the left side of the check. Authentic checks have the dark shading along the left side of the check and above the numbers on the MICR line. 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:

Roger L. Snare
Vice President Compliance and Security
Merchants & Southern Bank
2040 NW 67 Place
Gainesville, Florida 32653
Telephone: (352) 264-7100
Fax: (352) 378-1452
Email: rsnare@ms-bank.com

Information about these instruments 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/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 Protection