Counterfeit cashier's checks drawn on Mountain National Bank, Sevierville, Tennessee, are reportedly in circulation

Mountain National Bank, Sevierville, Tennessee, has contacted the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to report that counterfeit cashier's checks bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 064208437, which is assigned to Mountain National Bank. The counterfeit items are included with a letter notifying the recipient that he or she is a winner of the European Lottery Foundation. The letter states that the "France government" is charging a notarization and stamp duty tax; therefore, an entity known as The Royal Columbia Board of Commissions is supposedly advancing part of the winnings in the form of a cashier's check from its U.S. bank to be deposited and then wired via Western Union to China.

The counterfeit items are somewhat similar to authentic cashier's checks. However, the counterfeit items are printed in black on standard mint-green check stock. The counterfeit items do not display a border around the edge of the items, and the logo is slightly different from the logo on authentic cashier's checks.

Authentic cashier's checks are printed on standard mint-green check stock, and use green print for all wording; the logo is printed in gold. The following statement appears below the payment amount line: "This document has a micro-print signature line and a watermark. Absence of these features will indicate a copy."

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

Elaine Ely
Vice President – Bank Operations/Security
Mountain National Bank
P.O. Box 6519
300 E Main Street
Sevierville, Tennessee 37864
Telephone: (865) 908-1630
Fax: (865) 428-9103
E-mail: eely@bankmnb.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