First Hawaiian Bank, Honolulu, Hawaii, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit cashier's checks bearing the institution's name are in circulation. The counterfeit items are reportedly associated with an Internet scam and are originating in Nigeria.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 121301015, which is assigned to First Hawaiian Bank. However, First Hawaiian Bank does not issue cashier's checks. The bank issues "OFFICIAL BANK CHECKS" through Bank of the West, Walnut Creek, California, and those checks bear the routing number 121100782.

The counterfeit items are dissimilar to the bank's authentic checks. The counterfeit items display the words "CASHIER'S CHECK" in the top center and have boxes for the date and numerical dollar amount. A solid white box is centered on the item and is adjacent to the wording "PAY TO THE ORDER OF." The counterfeit items also display "MAIN BRANCH," "First Hawaiian Bank," and "HONOLULU, HAWAII" on three lines in the bottom-right corner.

Authentic checks display the bank's logo and mailing address in the bottom-left corner. The words "OFFICIAL BANK CHECK" are displayed in the top-left corner of authentic checks.

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:

Nora Forsythe
Vice President
First Hawaiian Bank
P.O. Box 1959
Honolulu, Hawaii 96819
Telephone: (808) 844-3071
Fax: (808) 844-3119

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 website 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 electronic images of fraudulent items or authentic checks that have been counterfeited. This is to avoid attempts by others to use these instruments to facilitate additional fraud. Financial institutions can view images of the fraudulent items and authentic checks (marked as VOID) using the FDIC's free, secure Web site, FDICconnect. (See more information about FDICconnect at http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2006/fil06032.html.) Printed copies of each 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)