Counterfeit official checks bearing the name The Huntington National Bank, Columbus, Ohio, are reportedly in circulation

Central Bank, Lebanon, Missouri, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit official checks bearing the name The Huntington National Bank, Columbus, Ohio, and the routing number assigned to Central Bank, Lebanon, Missouri, are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 081502815, which is assigned to Central Bank. Except for having the same routing number, the counterfeit items bear no resemblance to authentic checks. The counterfeit items display "Huntington" centered at the top and directly beneath a hexagon-shaped logo. In the lower-left corner, the items include an issuer and payee in the following order: "ISSUED BY: TRAVELERS EXPRESS COMPANY, INC." and "BOSTON SAFE DEPOSIT & TRUST CO."

Authentic checks display the bank's name and location in the top-center portion. Authentic checks have no reference to The Huntington National Bank, Travelers Express Company, Inc., or to Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Co.

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:

Donita Price
Vice President - Operations
Central Bank
101 West Commercial Street
P.O. Box 31
Lebanon, Missouri 65536
Telephone: (417) 532-2151, extension 259
Fax: (417) 532-2001
E-mail: dprice@central-bank.net

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