Counterfeit personal money orders bearing the name Cecil Bank are reportedly in circulation

Cecil Bank, Elkton, Maryland, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit personal money orders bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 011007092, which is assigned to Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Company, Boston, Massachusetts. Cecil Bank's personal money orders are issued by Moneygram Payment Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota, through an account at Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Company. The items are markedly dissimilar to authentic personal money orders. The bank's name is displayed in the lower-left corner along with a telephone number that is not associated with the bank. Three lines appear in the lower-right corner for the remitter's signature and address. The phrase "AGENT FOR MONEYGRAM" is centered at the bottom of the counterfeit items.

Authentic personal money orders display the bank's name in the top-left corner. A security feature statement appears above the top border. A "PURCHASER, SIGNER FOR DRAWER" and "ADDRESS" line appears as a microprint signature line in the lower-right corner. A "PURCHASER" statement appears below the written dollar amount line.

Any information you have concerning this matter should be brought to the attention of:

Theresa A. Switalski
Compliance Officer
Cecil Bank
127 North Street
Elkton, Maryland 21921
Telephone: (410) 398-1650, extension 210
Direct Line: (410) 392-8301
Fax: (410) 398-5539
E-mail: tswitalski@cecilbank.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