Counterfeit cashier's checks bearing the name Wilshire State Bank, Northridge, California, are reportedly in circulation

Wilshire State Bank, Los Angeles, California, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit cashier's checks bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 122038251, which is assigned to Wilshire State Bank, but are dissimilar to authentic items. The counterfeit items display a telephone number, which is not associated with the bank, below the bank's logo, name and the Valley Office (Northridge, California) address. The statement "THE FACE OF THIS DOCUMENT HAS A COLORED BACKGROUND ON WHITE PAPER" is embedded in the top border. The statement "THE BACK OF THIS DOCUMENT HAS AN ARTIFICIAL WATERMARK - HOLD AT AN ANGLE TO VIEW" is embedded in the bottom border.

Authentic Wilshire State Bank checks are printed on blue-colored paper and display security feature descriptions in script font below the "PAY TO THE ORDER OF" line. Authentic items have a padlock symbol in the right-center portion of the check.

Copies of a counterfeit item and an authentic check (VOID) are attached for your review. Be aware that the appearance of counterfeit items may be modified and that additional variations are possible.

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

Karen May
BSA Officer
3200 Wilshire Blvd. 7th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90010
Phone: (213) 427-7710
Fax: (213) 388-1315
E-mail: karenmay@wilshirebank.com;

or

Sora Park
Operations Administrator
Phone: (213) 427-2464
Fax: (213) 639-8035
E-mail: sorapark@wilshirebank.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. Thompson
Acting Director
Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection