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Alert 2009-3 | February 6, 2009
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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 096016765 are being presented for payment nationwide in connection with a secret shopping scam.
The counterfeit checks do not resemble the authentic items and may be identified by the following traits: the instruments are light blue in color, contain both a thick and thin dark blue line along the top and bottom borders of the instrument, and include a gold emblem in the lower center portion of the check. The bank's logo appears as a negative image with white text on dark background in the top center portion of the check and contains the words "Member FDIC." The following security statement is printed within the bottom border and followed by a padlock icon: "THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS SECURITY FEATURES – SEE REVERSE."
Items presented to date have been made payable in the amounts of $2,800, $2,950, and $2,990; include a remitter name of Fu Young; and are signed by a Kathleen Beal.
Due to possible variations in the appearance of the bank's official items and differing scams associated with the counterfeit items, officials of Clinton National Bank suggest they be contacted to verify authenticity of the bank's cashier's checks if received from an unknown or questionable source.
Correspondence accompanying the counterfeit checks may contain the letterhead of "Extreme Secret Shopper, P.O. Box 17550, Kent, WA 98002-3202; Tel: 1-905-781-9292; Fax: 206-337-1657" and may be signed by Jenny Wong, Quality Research Manager. The correspondence informs the recipient that he or she has been selected to represent the company as a secret shopper. It is explained that the enclosed cashier's check is to be used during the assignment to make purchases at various merchants and to transfer money using a nationally known wire service. Recipients are instructed to telephone Officer Tim Walkers at 1-905-781-9292 for detailed instructions.
For additional information and guidance, and to verify the authenticity of Clinton National Bank's cashier's checks, please contact Jennifer L. Boysen, EVP/Operations, 235 6th Avenue, South, Clinton, IA 52732, by telephone at (563) 243-1243, by fax at (563) 243-5451, or via email at [jenny.boysen@clintonnational.net].
Consumers who receive counterfeit or fictitious items and associated material should file complaints with the following agencies, as appropriate:
Additional information concerning this matter that should be brought to the attention of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) may be forwarded to
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Special Supervision Division 400 7th St. SW, Suite 3E-218; MS 8E-12 Washington, DC 20219 Phone: (202) 649-6450 Fax: (571) 293-4925 www.occ.gov occalertresponses@occ.treas.gov
For additional information regarding other types of financial fraud, please visit the OCC's anti-fraud resources page.
/signed/
Richard C. Stearns Director for Enforcement & Compliance
