Counterfeit official checks drawn on The First National Bank, McConnelsville, Ohio, are reportedly in circulation

The First National Bank, McConnelsville, Ohio, 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 044106384, which is assigned to First National Bank; however, they are not similar to authentic items. On the counterfeit checks, "OFFICIAL CHECK" is printed in the top center and the bank name, city, state and zip code are printed in the upper-left corner. "Check No." is displayed in the upper-right corner.

Authentic items bear the words "OFFICIAL CHECK" in the lower-left corner and the bank's flag logo, name and full mailing address in the upper-left corner. Imbedded in the top border is: "The face of this check has a security void background pattern. Do not cash if the word void is visible." A padlock symbol appears on the right side of the items. Authentic items are printed on security paper with a wavy blue background and a border.

Copies of a counterfeit item and an authentic item (VOID) are attached for your review.

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

Timothy Scholl
Security Officer
The First National Bank
P.O. Box 206
86 N. Kennebec Avenue
McConnelsville, OH 43756-208
Phone (740) 962-3911
FAX (740) 962-6535

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/2006/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