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Alert 2013-18 | September 20, 2013
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Chief Executive Officers of All National Banks and Federal Savings Associations; 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 Counsels; and All Examining Personnel
The above-named bank has reported that counterfeit official checks using a correct routing number of 211174181 are being presented for payment nationwide in connection with an international sweepstakes.
The counterfeit checks do not resemble the authentic items and may be identified by the following: Counterfeit items are of unknown color and contain one of the following security warnings in the top border: “FOR SECURITY PURPOSES, THE FACE OF THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS A COLORED BACKGROUND AND MICROPRINTING IN THE BORDER” or “THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS A TRUE WATERMARK – HOLD TO LIGHT TO VIEW.” The words “Savings Institute Bank & Trust” are typewritten in the top-left corner of the item, and the checks do not contain any logos or underscoring. The following statement appears above two signature lines on the right side of the check: “DRAWER: Savings Institute Bank & Trust.”
Counterfeit items presented to date have been made payable in the amount of: $9,450.29 and contain the dates of either August 21, 2013, or August 27, 2013.
Correspondence accompanying the counterfeit items contains the letterhead of Publishers Clearing House, 1010 Notebook Blvd, Barrie, Ontario M5G 2B2 Canada; and the top portion of the letter contains the stamp of “International Lotto Commission 08-21-2013 Int’l Lottery Board.” The correspondence informs the recipient that he or she is a winner of the $1,500,000.00 grand prize, and recipients are instructed to contact claim agent Robert Garcia at 1-705-500-4291 or 1-780-904-9733 within either five or seven days and to keep the notification confidential. The enclosed counterfeit item is referred to as a sponsorship check, which is purportedly sent to assist the recipient in paying the necessary international taxes and processing fees.
For additional information and guidance and to verify the authenticity of Savings Institute Bank & Trust’s official checks, please contact the bank’s customer service center at (800) 423-0142 or by email at customerservice@banksi.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.
Ellen M. Warwick Director for Enforcement and Compliance
