Counterfeit official checks bearing the name National City Bank, Washington, DC, are reportedly in circulation

Ireland Bank, Malad City, Idaho, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit official checks bearing the fictitious name "National City Bank, Washington, D.C.," are in circulation. The counterfeit items display the routing number 124100857, which is assigned to Ireland Bank.

The counterfeit items are dissimilar to authentic checks. "National City" appears twice in the upper-left corner next to and above a Washington, D.C., address. A telephone number, which is not associated with Ireland Bank, is printed below the address on some counterfeit items. "Payable Through Ireland Bank" is printed in the lower-left corner above a "REMITTER" line.

Authentic checks display the Ireland Bank logo, slogan, telephone number and address in the upper-left corner. The words "OFFICIAL CHECK" are printed in the top center. The following statement is embedded within the top border: "THE FACE OF THIS CHECK HAS A REFLECTIVE METALLIC HOLOGRAM, GREEN BACKGROUND AND MICRO PRINTING." The following statement is embedded within the bottom border: "THE BACK OF THIS CHECK CONTAINS A WATERMARK - HOLD AT AN ANGLE TO VIEW."

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:

Regene A. Jones
Compliance Officer
Ireland Bank
33 Bannock Street
Malad, Idaho 83252
Telephone: (208) 766-2211
Fax: (208) 766-2361
E-mail: rjones@ireland-bank.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