The Bank of Castile, Castile, New York, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit cashier's checks bearing the institution's routing number are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 022306818, which is assigned to The Bank of Castile. The counterfeit items also display "Greater Buffalo" directly to the left of a buffalo logo in the top-left corner and have a "Memo" line in the lower-left corner. The statement "VOID AFTER 90 DAYS OF ISSUANCE" is displayed above the signature line and security wording is included across the top border.

Authentic cashier's checks display "THE BANK OF CASTILE, A Tompkins Community Bank" in the top center and a "REMITTER" line is included on the left side. Additionally, authentic checks do not include security wording, but have a padlock symbol embedded within the right border.

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:

Lisa Townes
Security Officer
The Bank of Castile
90 Main Street
Batavia, New York 14020
Telephone: (585) 345-6132
Fax: (585) 345-0497
E-mail: lisatownes@bankofcastile.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)