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ALERT 2008-44
OCC ALERT

Comptroller of the Currency
Administrator of National Banks

 

Subject: Counterfeit Cashier’s Checks
Description: Central National Bank
 Date: October 30, 2008

TO: Chief Executive Officers of All National Banks; All State Banking Authorities; Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Conference of State Bank Supervisors; Deputy Comptrollers (districts); Assistant Deputy Comptrollers; District Counsel; and All Examining Personnel
 
RE: Counterfeit Cashier’s Checks of Central National Bank, Junction City, KS

The above-named bank has reported that counterfeit cashier’s checks issued in the bank’s name and using a correct routing number of 101101293 are being presented for payment nationwide in connection with a lottery scam.

The counterfeit checks resemble the authentic items but may be identified by the following: the instruments contain the words “Junction City, Kansas” in the top-center portion of the item directly beneath the bank’s name and logo. The following security statement appears in the top border: “THE FACE OF THIS DOCUMENT HAS A COLORED BACKGROUND ON WHITE PAPER AND ORIGINAL DOCUMENT SECURITY SCREEN ON BACK WITH PADLOCK SECURITY ICON.”

Items presented to date have included the name of “Juanita E. Mooney” as the remitter and have been made payable in the amount of $5,250.

The prize award winner notification correspondence accompanying the checks may contain the letterhead of “WLA, PO Box 907, Laguna Beach, California 92652 USA.” The recipient is informed of his or her winning status of a large dollar amount in the sweepstakes drawing through systems maintained by “Readers Digest, Publisher’s Clearing House, Computers Games and Sweepstakes Data Base from Australia, New Zealand, Europe, North and South America, South Africa, and Asia.” The recipient is informed that the enclosed check will be used to pay processing and insurance fees and is further instructed to contact claim agent Vicky Robinson at 514-839-5458. Please note that this telephone number originates from Lachine, Quebec. The letter may be signed by Dennis J. Kucinich.

Due to possible variations in the appearance of the bank’s official items and differing scams associated with the counterfeit or fictitious items, officials of Central National Bank recommend that any recipient who receives any of the bank’s official items from an unknown or questionable source should contact the bank to verify the item’s authenticity.

For additional information and guidance, please contact Debbie Crooks, Vice President, Security/Fraud, 802 N. Washington, Junction City, KS 66641, by telephone at (785) 838-1998, by fax at (785-838-1995, or via e-mail at [dcrooks@centralnational.com].

Consumers who receive a counterfeit or fictitious item and associated material should file complaints with the following agencies, as appropriate:

  • Federal Trade Commission (FTC): by telephone at 1-877-FTC-HELP or, for filing a complaint electronically, via the FTC’s Web site at www.ftc.gov.
  • Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Canadian scams): by telephone at 1-888-495-8501 or via e-mail at [info@phonebusters.com]. Their Web site, www.phonebusters.com, provides additional contact numbers and a link to their online reporting system, RECOL, which can be accessed at www.recol.ca.
  • Better Business Bureau (BBB) – The BBB system serves markets throughout Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United States, and is the marketplace leader in advancing trust between businesses and consumers. The international Web site http://www.bbb.org offers contact information for local BBBs, objective reports on more than two million businesses, consumer scam alerts, and tips on a wide variety of topics that help consumers find trustworthy businesses and make wise purchasing decisions.
  • Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Internet Fraud Complaint Center (scams that may have originated via the Internet) at http://www.ic3.gov.
  • If correspondence is received via the U.S. Postal Service, contact the U.S. Postal Inspector Service by telephone at 1-888-877-7644, by mail at U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Office of Inspector General, Operations Support Group, 222 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 1250, Chicago, IL 60606-6100, or via e-mail at https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/MailFraudComplaint.aspx.

Additional information concerning this matter that you believe should be brought to the attention of the OCC may be forwarded to:

E-mail: occalertresponses@occ.treas.gov
Mail: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Special Supervision Division, MS 6-4
250 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20219
Fax: (202) 874-5214
Internet: http://www.occ.treas.gov

For additional information regarding other types of financial fraud, please visit the OCC’s anti-fraud resource at: http://www.occ.treas.gov/fraudresources.htm.

 

          /signed/          

Richard C. Stearns
Director for Enforcement & Compliance