Counterfeit cashier's checks drawn on The Harbor Bank of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, are reportedly in circulation

The Harbor Bank of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit items bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 096016765, which is assigned to US Bank, St. Paul, MN. The Harbor Bank of Maryland issues cashier's checks through US Bank. The counterfeit items are similar to authentic cashier's checks in appearance, and bear the bank's name, city, state and zip code and a toll-free number, which is not associated with the bank, on the upper-left side. A "Memo" line appears in the lower-left corner and the words "Check No." are printed in the upper-right corner. In the top border is the following statement: "THIS DOCUMENT HAS A GRADUATED BACKGROUND DARK TO LIGHT THE REVERSE SIDE INCLUDES AN ARTIFICIAL WATERMARK."

Authentic cashier's checks display the bank's name, city, state and zip code in the top center, and a "REMITTER" line appears on the upper-left side. Authentic items have a microprint signature line and are printed on blue paper.

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

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

Rene D. Washington
Compliance and Security/AVP
The Harbor Bank of Maryland
25 W. Fayette Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: (443) 923-0566 Direct
Fax: (410) 735-3330
E-mail: rwashington@theharborbank.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/2006/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Sandra L. ThompsonActing Director
Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection