Counterfeit cashier's checks drawn on East West Bank, San Marino, California, are reportedly in circulation

East West Bank, San Marino, California, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit checks bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 322070381, which is assigned to East West Bank. The counterfeit items are dissimilar to authentic cashier's checks. Authentic checks have a logo in the top-left corner of the check; counterfeit checks do not display a logo. Also, authentic checks display the following wording across the top of the check: "This multi-tone area of the document changes color gradually and evenly from dark to light." The counterfeit items display the following wording: "This document has a colored background and microprinting. The reverse side includes an artificial watermark." A copy 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:

Krishan Sirimane
Vice President – Bank Operations and Risk Management
or
Francisco Espinoza
Assistant Vice President – Assistant Risk Manager
East West Bank
415 Huntington Drive
San Marino, California 91108
Telephone: (626) 300-6340 or (626) 300-6341
Fax: (626) 281-0367
ksiriman@eastwestbank.com
fespinoza@eastwestbank.com

Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents and other fraudulent activity 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.

Christopher J. SpothActing Director
Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection