Farmers State Bank, Pittsfield, Illinois, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit bank drafts bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 081000032, which is assigned to Bank of America. Farmers State Bank issues bank drafts using a payable-through account at Bank of America. The counterfeit items are similar to authentic bank drafts. The counterfeit items have one signature line in the lower-right corner, and security feature descriptions printed in the top and bottom borders. The routing number appears below the bottom border. The borders have rounded corners.

Authentic bank drafts have two signature lines in the lower-right corner and display the routing number above the bottom border. The bank drafts are printed on light blue safety paper and have ornate borders with square corners.

A copy of a counterfeit item and a copy of an authentic bank draft (VOID) are attached for your review.

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

Nichole Archer
Compliance Officer
Farmers State Bank
108 East Adams
Pittsfield, Illinois 62363
Phone: (217) 285-5585
Fax: (217) 285-4645
E-mail: narcher@farmersstate.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. Information 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 Web site at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2006/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Attachment (not available electronically)

NOTE: As a security precaution, the FDIC does not post to its Web site online copies of fraudulent instruments or copies of the genuine instruments that have been counterfeited. This is to avoid attempts by others to use the electronic versions of these instruments to facilitate additional fraud. Printed copies of fraudulent instruments are mailed with the Special Alert letter to the financial institutions on the letter's distribution list (generally, FDIC-supervised banks – commercial and savings). Printed copies of the Special Alert and its attachment(s) may also be obtained from the FDIC's Public Information Center, telephone: 1-877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200; fax: 703-562-2296; or e-mail: publicinfo@fdic.gov).

Distribution: FDIC-Supervised Banks (Commercial and Savings)