Counterfeit money orders bearing the name Patriot Bank Minnesota, Wyoming, Minnesota, are reportedly in circulation

Patriot Bank Minnesota, Wyoming, Minnesota, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit money orders bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 091916899, which is assigned to Patriot Bank Minnesota, but are dissimilar to authentic money orders. The counterfeit items display two branch locations listed by city, state, zip code and telephone number to the right of the bank's name in the top-center portion. The counterfeit items also display "PURCHASED BY" and "PAYABLE TO" on the left side and "MEMORANDUM" in the lower-right corner.

Authentic money orders display four branch locations listed by city, state, zip code and telephone number to the right of the bank's logo and name in the top-center portion. Authentic money orders display the following security statement below the printed amount line: "THIS DOCUMENT HAS A MICRO-PRINT SIGNATURE LINE, AUTHENTIC WATERMARK, AND CHLOROSTAIN PAPER; ABSENCE OF THESE FEATURES WILL INDICATE A COPY." Authentic money orders also display "REMITTER" and "PAY TO THE ORDER OF" on the left side and three lines noted for "ADDRESS," "CITY & STATE" and "SIGNATURE OF REMITTER" in the lower-right corner.

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:

Deanna Guetter
Vice President and Cashier
Patriot Bank Minnesota
7449 Village Drive
Lino Lakes, Minnesota 55014
Telephone: (651) 785-9320
Fax: (651) 785-9298
E-mail: deannag@PBMinn.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. Questions 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 http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2007/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