Counterfeit official checks bearing the name Municipal Credit Union, New York, New York, are reportedly in circulation

Municipal Credit Union, New York, New York, 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 044000804, which is assigned to JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., Columbus, Ohio. Municipal Credit Union official checks are issued by Integrated Payment Systems Inc., through an account held at JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. The items are nearly identical to authentic official checks; however, the counterfeit items are solid green and the authentic checks are two-tone green with darker borders. Authentic checks have a telephone number printed on the back; counterfeit items do not.

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:

Michael Rosano
Senior Manager
Security and Fraud Department
Municipal Credit Union
22 Cortlandt Street
New York, New York 10007
Telephone: (212) 238-3597
Fax: (212) 416-7037
E-mail: mrosano@nymcu.org

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/2008/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. ThompsonDirector
Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection