HomeStreet Bank, Seattle, Washington, 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 122037171, which is assigned to an account that Integrated Payments Systems, Inc., Englewood, Colorado, has at Wells Fargo Bank, Ltd., Los Angeles, California. HomeStreet Bank issues official checks through Integrated Payment Systems, Inc. The counterfeit items also display a telephone number, which is not associated with the bank, in the upper-left corner just below the bank's logo, name and address. The counterfeit items are light blue, and the notation "RE" appears in the lower-left corner to the left of the reference line. Authentic checks are light green and the word "Memo" is printed in the lower-left corner below the memo line. A copy of a counterfeit item and a copy of an authentic official check (VOID) are attached for your review.

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

Carrie Brume
Corporate Security Officer
Telephone: (206) 389-7734
e-mail: Security@HomeStreet.com

or

Valorie Sheehy
Fraud Investigator
Telephone: (206) 587-5004
HomeStreet Bank
601 Union Street, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98101
Fax: (206) 621-2557

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)