Counterfeit official checks bearing the name First Bank, Troy, North Carolina, are reportedly in circulation

First Bank, Troy, North Carolina, 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 053104568, which is assigned to First Bank. The items are markedly dissimilar to authentic official checks. The counterfeit items are light green with a diamond background and dark green border. A security feature statement is embedded in the top border and along the bottom border between two padlock icons. "Authorized Signature" appears below the signature line on the left side of the line.

Authentic official checks are light green with an ornate scroll on the left border. The top and bottom borders are dark green. The right border contains a vertical security statement and padlock icon. "Authorized Signature" appears below the signature line on the right side of the 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:

Tom Clay
Vice President and Security Officer
First Bank
P.O. Box 508
1046 Albemarle Road
Troy, North Carolina 27371-0508
Telephone: (910) 572-3037, extension 225 or Toll Free: (866) 493-2265
Fax: (910) 572-3295
E-mail: tclay@firstbancorp.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