Washington First International Bank, Seattle, Washington, 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 125008165, which is assigned to Washington First International Bank. However, the counterfeit items are dissimilar to authentic checks. The counterfeit items display a telephone number, which is not associated with the bank, in the upper-left corner below the bank's logo, name and street address. Embedded in the top border is the statement: "THIS DOCUMENT HAS A COLORED BACKGROUND AND MICROPRINTING. THE REVERSE SIDE INCLUDES AN ARTIFICIAL WATERMARK." The words "CASHIER'S CHECK" and the FDIC logo are centered at the top of the items. Two signature lines appear in the lower-right corner.

Authentic checks display "CASHIER'S CHECK" in the lower-left corner above the wording "VOID AFTER 90 DAYS." Only the city, state and "U.S.A." appear in the upper-left portion below the bank's name and next to the logo. Authentic checks have one signature line in the bottom-right corner and decorative borders on all sides.

Copies of a counterfeit item and an 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:

Karen Booth
Vice President Operations
Washington First International Bank
9709 Third Avenue, NE
Seattle, Washington 98115
Phone: (206) 525-8118
Fax: (206) 528-9300
E-mail: karen.booth@wfib.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)