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Alert 2006-8 | February 13, 2006
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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; Director, Office of Thrift Supervision; Conference of State Bank Supervisors; Deputy Comptrollers (districts); Assistant Deputy Comptrollers; District Counsel; and All Examining Personnel
The above-named bank has reported that counterfeit cashier's checks, issued in the bank's name and using a correct routing number of 111304307, are being presented nationwide for payment in connection with a Nigerian check fraud scam.
The counterfeit checks may be identified by the following: a standard blue check stock with a security strip in the top border which states: "THE FACE OF THIS DOCUMENT HAS A BLUE CHECK BACKGROUND ON WHITE PAPER AND A VOID PANTOGRAPH WITH A BLUE SECURITY STRIP IN CENTER." The words "CASHIER'S CHECK" appear along the left border of the instrument, and the bank's name "Hamlin National Bank, Hamlin, Texas" appears in the center of the check with a fictitious bank logo to the left. The logo is the #1 inside of an image of the United States encircled by a globe. The words "TO THE ORDER OF" appear in the lower-left corner of the check, and an "Authorized Signature" line appears in the lower-right corner showing a possible signature of a David Jaret. The checks appear to be prepared using a digital check writer. All of the counterfeit items presented to date appear as check number 87159, are dated January 25, 2006, in the amount of $4,500.00, and show the remitter as Chris Thompson.
Authentic cashier's checks issued by the bank are blue in color and contain a security statement in the top border that states: "THE FACE OF THIS DOCUMENT HAS A COLORED BACKGROUND ON WHITE PAPER." The bank's logo of an eagle is located in the top-left portion of the check followed by the bank's name and address "HAMLIN NATIONAL BANK, 231 South Central Avenue, Hamlin, Texas 79520." The amount, remitter, and payee sections are enclosed in rectangular-shaped boxes. The words "CASHIER CHECK" are located in the right-center portion of the instrument directly beneath a statement that reads: "VOID AFTER 180 DAYS." A signature line appears in the lower-right portion of the check, and a security statement is located in the bottom border of the instrument.
You can verify the authenticity of Hamlin National Bank's cashier's checks by contacting Dan Byerly, vice president, 231 South Central Avenue, Hamlin, Texas 79520, by telephone at (325) 576-2731, by fax at (325) 576-3390, or via email at [dbyerly@hnbmail.com].
Additional information concerning this matter that you believe should be brought to the attention of the OCC may be forwarded to:
Email: occalertresponses@occ.treas.gov Mail: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Enforcement & Compliance Division, MS 8-10 250 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20219 Fax: (202) 874-5301 Internet: https://www.occ.gov
For additional information on this particular situation, please refer to OCC Alert 2006-06.
For additional information regarding other types of financial fraud, please visit the OCC's anti-fraud resource page.
Brian C. McCormally Director for Enforcement & Compliance
