Counterfeit money orders bearing the name American National Bank, Sidney, Nebraska, are reportedly in circulation

The American National Bank of Sidney, Sidney, Nebraska, 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 104102202, which is assigned to The American National Bank of Sidney. The counterfeit items are dissimilar to authentic money orders and display a security feature statement within the top border and a "VOID" background when copied. The bank's logo, name (repeated twice), street address ("901 Tenth Ave"), city, state and a nine- digit zip code appear in the top-left corner. The words "DATE" and "AMOUNT" are inside of darkened boxes on the right side. The wording "NOT VALID FOR OVER $1,000.00" is printed below the word "DOLLARS" on the right side.

Authentic money orders have ornate borders and display the words "MONEY ORDER" inside a rectangle in the top center. "PERSONAL MONEY ORDER" is also displayed inside a rectangle in the lower-left corner. The bank's logo, name, post office box address ("P.O. Box 19"), city, state and a five-digit zip code appear in the top-left corner. A security feature statement is displayed below the "PAY TO THE ORDER OF" line and the wording "NOT VALID FOR OVER $1,000.00" is shown below the date line. "SIGNATURE OF BUYER" is displayed above two signature lines and "ADDRESS OF BUYER" is shown above a third line in the lower-right corner. Authentic money orders have a security padlock icon and statement on the right side below the dollar amount line.

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:

Eileen Beeken
Cashier
The American National Bank of Sidney
P.O. Box 19
Sidney, Nebraska 69162
Telephone: (308) 254-5536
Fax: (308) 254-5547
E-mail: ebeeken@anbsidney.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 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