Counterfeit cashier's checks drawn on Bank of the Pacific, Aberdeen, Washington, are reportedly in circulation

Bank of the Pacific, Aberdeen, Washington, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit cashier's checks bearing the name, Bank NorthWest, are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the proper routing number of 125108353 for Bank of the Pacific; however, the fraudulent items are markedly dissimilar to authentic bank checks. The counterfeit items and older authentic cashier's checks use the name "Bank NorthWest." However, the Bank of the Pacific acquired Bank NorthWest, and only cashier's checks of Bank of the Pacific have been issued since February 18, 2005. Also, the counterfeit items use the term "OFFICIAL CHECK" while the term "CASHIER'S CHECK" is used on authentic cashier's checks. A copy of a counterfeit item and a copy of 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:

Wendy Strange
Senior Vice President Operations
Bank of the Pacific
P.O. Box 1826
300 East Market Street
Aberdeen, Washington 98520
Telephone: (360) 642-5524 Extension 225
Fax: (360) 642-3423
wstrange@thebankofpacific.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