Counterfeit personal money orders bearing the name Merchant & Planters Bank, Tonne, Tennessee, are reportedly in circulation

Merchants & Planters Bank, Toone, Tennessee, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit personal money orders bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 084304793, which is assigned to Merchants & Planters Bank, but are dissimilar to authentic personal money orders. The counterfeit items include the phrase "PAY TO THE ORDER" in the left-center area. The city name is misspelled as "TONNE." The city and state are printed in upper case letters below the bank's name in the lower-left corner.

Authentic money orders display "PAY TO THE ORDER OF" in the left-center area. A padlock security symbol is centered above the bottom border. Two microprint security lines appear in the lower-right corner. The city name is spelled correctly as "Toone" in the lower-left corner.

Copies of a counterfeit item and an authentic money order (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:

Richard Wetherbee
Executive Vice President & Financial Officer
Merchants & Planters Bank
Main Street
Toone, Tennessee 38381
Phone: (731) 659-2325
Fax: (731) 659-2878
E-mail: rbeempb@mpbanktn.com
Bank Phone: (731) 658-2406

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 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