Counterfeit official checks bearing the name CommunityONE are reportedly in circulation

CommunityONE Bank, National Association, Asheboro, 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 053102191, which is assigned CommunityONE Bank. The following security feature statement is embedded in the top border: "FOR SECURITY PURPOSES, THE FACE OF THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS A COLORED BACKGROUND AND MICROPRINTING IN THE BORDER." A security feature statement is also displayed along the bottom border between two padlock icons.

Authentic checks have the following security feature statement embedded in the top border: "CHECK IS PRINTED ON PAPER THAT HAS FLUORESCENT PAPER FIBERS, A WATERMARKED BACKER AND IS REACTIVE TO CHEMICAL ALTERATION."

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:

Richard L. Jurgensen, CBCP
Vice President and Director of Security
CommunityONE Bank
P.O. Box 1328
Asheboro, North Carolina 27204-1328
Telephone: (336) 626-8315
Cellular: (336) 953-3555
Fax: (336) 318-7885
E-mail: Rick.Jurgensen@myyesbank.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-3054, 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/2010/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