Counterfeit cashier's checks drawn on Alamerica Bank, Birmingham, Alabama, are reportedly in circulation

lamerica Bank, Birmingham, Alabama, 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 062006356, which is assigned to Alamerica Bank, and are markedly dissimilar to authentic checks. The counterfeit items display the bank's name, address, and a telephone number, which is not associated with the bank, in the upper-left corner. The counterfeit items also display the wording "MATCH THE AMOUNT IN WORDS WITH THE AMOUNT IN NUMBERS" and "ZIONS BANK" to the left of the dollar sign. On five lines in the lower- left corner, the counterfeit items display the words "PAY TO THE ORDER OF." A security lock symbol is displayed on the lower-right side.

Authentic checks display the bank's logo and name to the left of the local telephone number and address in the upper-left corner. Printed on two lines in the lower-left corner are "TO THE" and "ORDER OF."

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

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

Kent McGriff
Senior Vice President &
Chief Financial Officer
Alamerica Bank
2170 Highland Avenue South
Birmingham, Alabama 35205
Telephone: (205) 558-4645
Fax: (205) 558-4616
E-mail: kmgriff@alamericabank.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 website 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
Director
Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection