Counterfeit cashier's checks drawn on The Citizens Bank, Farmington, New Mexico, are reportedly in circulation

The Citizens Bank, Farmington, New Mexico, 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 102202078 for The Citizens Bank. The counterfeit items and authentic checks are similar. However, authentic cashier's checks are printed on either a blue or green background. The counterfeit items have been printed on a pink background. 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:

Phyllis Gallegos
Vice President
The Citizens Bank
500 West Broadway
Farmington, New Mexico 87401
Telephone: (505) 599-0192
Fax: (505) 566-1173
phylissg@cbnm.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