Counterfeit expense checks drawn on First Coweta Bank, Newnan, Georgia, are reportedly in circulation

First Coweta Bank, Newnan, Georgia, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit expense checks bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the proper routing number of 061120437 for First Coweta Bank. The counterfeit items and the authentic checks are similar. However, authentic expense checks include the following wording at the bottom of the check: “WARNING: THIS DOCUMENT IS VOID IF ACCOUNT NUMBER DOES NOT APPEAR ON THE REVERSE SIDE IN RED.” A copy of a counterfeit item and a copy of an authentic expense check (VOID) are attached for your review.

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

Cindy Gosdin
Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
First Coweta Bank
P.O. Box 1033
Newnan, Georgia 30264
Telephone: (770) 251-4311
Fax: (770) 254-3838
cindy.gosdin@firstcowetabank.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