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Alert 2008-44 | October 30, 2008
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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; 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 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 email at [dcrooks@centralnational.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
