Counterfeit official checks bearing the name Citizens State Bank, New Castle, Indiana, are reportedly in circulation

Citizens State Bank, New Castle, Indiana, 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 074902082, which is assigned to Citizens State Bank. There are two versions of the counterfeit items and they are similar to authentic official checks. The first version displays a security feature statement embedded along the top border and a scroll design along the left, top and right sides of the item. The second version displays the words "CASHIER CHEKS" in the top center.

Authentic official checks are green in color and display the words "OFFICIAL BANK CHECK" in the top center inside a rectangle with arrowheads on the sides.

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:

S. Scott Welch
Senior Vice President
Citizens State Bank
1238 Broad Street
New Castle, Indiana 47362
Telephone: (765) 529-5450
Fax: (765) 521-6550
E-mail: swelch@townfin.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/2009/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