Counterfeit official checks bearing the name Farmers & Merchants Bank, Eatonton, Georgia, are reportedly in circulation

Farmers & Merchants Bank, Eatonton, Georgia, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit official checks bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 061110557, which is assigned to Farmers & Merchants Bank. The counterfeit items are identical to authentic checks except that the counterfeit checks have scanned signatures printed in the lower-right area. Authentic checks are manually signed using an ink pen.

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:

Anna S. Mullis
Bank Secrecy Act and Compliance Officer
Farmers and Merchants Bank
Post Office Box 4450
Eatonton, Georgia 31024
Phone: (706) 485-9941
Fax: (706) 485-5970
E-mail: amullis@ibankfmb.com

Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents and other counterfeit 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 http://www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Sandra L. Thompson
Director
Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection