Fifth Third Bank, Cincinnati, Ohio, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit cashier's checks bearing the bank's name and a Lexington, Kentucky, address are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 042101190, which is assigned to Fifth Third Bank, Cincinnati, Ohio. The counterfeit items are similar to authentic cashier's checks; however, the borders on the counterfeit items have rounded corners.

Authentic checks display printed lines for both the "Pay to the Order of" and "Amount" fields. On three lines in the lower-left portion of the checks are the fields "Drawn on," "Memo," and "Purchased by." Authentic checks also display "Transaction Number" and "Cost Center" to the right of the "Drawn on" field. The following statement appears in the lower left-corner of authentic checks: "The purchase of a Surety Bond may be required before any Cashier's Check on this bank will be replaced or refunded in the event it is lost, misplaced, or stolen." Additionally, the following security statement appears below the routing number on the bottom of authentic checks: "THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT HAS A WHITE REFLECTIVE WATERMARK ON THE BACK. HOLD AT AN ANGLE TO SEE THE MARK WHEN CHECKING THE ENDORSEMENTS."

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:

Fifth Third Bank - Protection Department
5001 Kingsley Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio 45263
Telephone: (800) 927-0395
Fax: (513) 358-5214

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)

Distribution: FDIC-Supervised Banks (Commercial and Savings)