NewAlliance Bank, New Haven, Connecticut, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit checks bearing the bank's name are in circulation. The counterfeit items are associated with a Canadian lottery scam.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 211170088, which is assigned to NewAlliance Bank. However, authentic official checks display the routing number 044015543, which is assigned to Huntington National Bank, Columbus, Ohio. The bank issues official checks through an account of Travelers Express Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota, held at Huntington National Bank.

The counterfeit items display the bank's name, location and a telephone number, which is not associated with the bank, in the top-center portion. The bank's name and logo are also displayed in the upper-left corner above "CASHIER'S CHECK."

Authentic checks display a logo in the top-center portion with the word "OFFICIAL" to the left and the word "CHECK" to the right of the logo. The check has a printed line following "Pay to the Order of" and to the right of the "$" sign. A printed line also appears in the upper-right corner of the check with "New Haven, CT" printed directly beneath the line.

Copies of the counterfeit item and an authentic check (VOID) are attached for your review.

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

Thomas S. Fee
Vice President and Director of Security
NewAlliance Bank
195 Church Street
New Haven, Connecticut 06502
Telephone: (203) 789-2609
Fax: (203) 789-2739
E-mail: alert@newalliancebank.com

To report this scam or any other scam based in or mailed from Canada, please contact Phonebusters, which is a joint partnership between the Ontario Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Phonebusters is interested in receiving copies of scam letters, particularly those involving Canadian mailing addresses or telephone numbers. Records relating to the payment of advance fees should also be forwarded to Phonebusters. This information is used to assist in the strategic targeting of would-be fraudsters. Scam letters should be forwarded to the Phonebusters National Call Center (PNCC) as follows:

Mail:	Box 686 North Bay, Ontario, Canada P1B 8J8
Web site:	www.phonebusters.com
Telephone:	+1 (888) 495-8501 (toll-free in Canada and the USA)
Fax:	+1 (888) 654-9426 (toll-free in Canada and the USA)
E-mail:	info@phonebusters.com
Advance fee fraud (including Nigerian and lottery letters): wafl@phonebusters.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 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)