Columbia River Bank, The Dalles, Oregon, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit checks bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 122037760, which is assigned to First Regional Bank, Los Angeles, California. Columbia River Bank issues official checks through a payable- through account held at First Regional Bank. The counterfeit items appear to be associated with a scam, whereby a letter instructs the recipient to deposit the "check" and call the sender of the letter for further instructions.

The counterfeit items are dissimilar to authentic checks in appearance. The counterfeit items are light blue and have a dark blue top border with rounded edges. The counterfeit items also have black lettering. The following security statement is embedded in the top border: "THIS DOCUMENT HAS A COLORED BACKGROUND AND MICROPRINTING. THE REVERSE SIDE INCLUDES AN ARTIFICIAL WATERMARK."

Authentic checks have dark borders on all four sides. The following statement appears just below the top border: "THIS DOCUMENT HAS AN ARTIFICIAL WATERMARK PRINTED ON THE BACK. THE FRONT OF THE DOCUMENT HAS A MICROPRINT SIGNATURE LINE. ABSENCE OF THESE FEATURES INDICATES A COPY."

Copies of a counterfeit item and authentic check (VOID) are attached for your review. Be aware that the appearance of counterfeit items may be modified and that additional variations are possible.

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

Tammy Hoffmann
Compliance Officer
Columbia River Bank
401 East Third Street
The Dalles, Oregon 97058
Telephone: (541) 298-3156
Fax: (541) 298-3154
E-mail: THoffman@columbiariverbank.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)