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Alert 2007-10 | February 27, 2007
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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 official checks issued in the bank's name and using a correct routing number of 022000868 are being presented for payment nationwide in connection with various lottery scams.
Counterfeit items may be identified by the following traits: the checks are blue in color with a darker blue border. The following statement is located in the top border of the item: "THIS DOCUMENT HAS A COLORED BACKGROUND AND HIGH RESOLUTION BORDER. THE REVERSE SIDE OF THIS DOCUMENT HAS AN ARTIFICIAL WATERMARK." The bank's name is located in the upper-left corner of the check, the words "official check" are located in the top-center portion of the instrument, and the following statement is printed in the lower-left section of the check: "Issued by Integrated Payment System Inc, Englewood, Colorado To Citibank (New york State) Buffalo, NY." Note the typo of the lower-case "y" in "New york."
Items presented to date have been made payable in various amounts from $2,985 to $14,000.
Correspondence accompanying the checks may contain the letterhead of "Colina Financial Group LTD (CFG), Trusted Financial Services, PO Box N-4728, Nassau, Bahamas, Sponsor: Readers Digest, Publishers Clearing House, Sweepstakes, Lotto." The letter alerts the recipient that he or she is the winner of an unclaimed prize and should contact the office immediately. The recipient is advised to keep all information confidential and is encouraged to act by a specific date or the winnings will be forfeited. Recipients are to contact claims agents Mr. Kelly Brangu / Mrs. Diana Ford at 1-778-552-1304 or Mr. Hickey Lambert / Mrs. Judy Armstrong at 778-552-1063 (Canadian telephone numbers) for further instruction. The correspondence may be signed by Franklin R. Macdougal, Snr or Anderson L. Harriman, Sr. Note that both use the title of Director Claims & Credit Control.
For additional information and guidance and to verify the authenticity of Harleysville National Bank's official checks, please contact Amanda Moyer, Investigator, Corporate Security, 483 Main Street, Harleysville, PA 19438, by telephone at (215) 256-8851 ext. 61286, by fax at (215) 256-8295, or via email at [amoyer@hncbank.com].
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
