Counterfeit official checks drawn on The Bank, Birmingham, AL, are reportedly in circulation

Superior Bank (formerly known as The Bank), Birmingham, AL, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit official checks bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 092005411, which is the payable-through account of First Interstate Bank of Helena, MT. The fraudulent items are similar to authentic official checks. The counterfeit items have a light green background on the top half of the check that fades to a white background on the lower half, and a simple logo that says "BANK" in the upper left-hand corner of the check. Authentic official checks have a pale green background with a logo in the upper-left corner that is an ornate pillar incorporating the words "The BANK." Copies of a counterfeit item and an authentic official check (VOID) are attached for your review.

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

Larry Meredith
Director Corporate Security
Superior Bank
17 North 20th Street
Birmingham, AL 35203
Telephone: (205) 327-3493
Fax: (205) 327-3517
larry.merideth@superiorbank.com or Michael Law
Fraud Analyst/Corporate Security
Superior Bank
17 North 20th Street
Birmingham, AL 35203
Telephone (205) 327-3866
Fax: (205) 327-3517
michael.law@superiorbank.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