North Community Bank, Chicago, Illinois, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit checks bearing the bank's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items include the routing number 071001533, which is assigned to North Community Bank. Some, but not all, of the counterfeit items display the routing number as 71001533, which is missing the leading zero. The counterfeit items include an "NC" logo, the bank's name, city and state in the upper-left corner with the word "REMITTER" displayed directly below. The counterfeit items display a serial number beginning with the letters "EW."

Authentic checks display "OFFICIAL BANK CHECK" in the top-left portion of the item. The following statement appears in the top center of the check: "The purchase of an indemnity bond may be required before this check will be replaced or refunded in the event it is lost, misplaced, or stolen."

Copies of a counterfeit item and 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 McBriar
Fraud Officer
North Community Bank
2335 North Clark Street
Chicago, Illinois 60614
Telephone: (773) 244-7049
Fax: (773) 244-7065
E-mail: cmbriar@northcommunitybank.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 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)