Counterfeit cashier’s checks drawn on Bank of Ridgeway, Ridgeway, South Carolina, and INSOUTH Bank, Brownsville, Tennessee, are reportedly in circulation

Bank of Ridgeway, Ridgeway, South Carolina, has reported to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that counterfeit cashier's checks are in circulation. The counterfeit instruments are drawn upon the bank and display the proper routing number of 051900353. The counterfeit instruments closely resemble the authentic official checks; however, the account number on the counterfeit checks begins with “820.” The account number for the authentic instruments begins with “410.” A copy of a counterfeit check and a copy of an authentic official check (void) are attached for your review.

Any information you have concerning this matter should be brought to the attention of:

Mr. William Harwell
President
Bank of Ridgeway
P.O. Box 8
Ridgeway , South Carol ina 29130
Telephone: (803) 337-2251
Fax: (803) 337-8268

INSOUTH Bank, Brownsville, Tennessee, has also reported to the FDIC that counterfeit cashier's checks are in circulation. The counterfeit instruments are drawn upon the bank and display the proper routing number of 084301408. The counterfeit instruments are similar to the authentic official checks and do not appear to have any distinct characteristics that provide clear differentiation. A copy of a counterfeit check and a copy of an authentic official check (void) are attached for your review.

Any information you have concerning this matter should be brought to the attention of:

Mr. Dan Jackson
Security Officer
INSOUTH Bank
111 South Washington St .
Brownsville , Tennessee 38012
Telephone: (800) 541-3891 (ext. 1156)
Fax: (731) 772-6109

Information concerning these financial institutions or instruments may be forwarded to the FDIC's Special Activities Section, 550 17th Street, N.W., Room F-4040, Washington, D.C. 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov. Information related to federal deposit insurance or consumer issues should be submitted to the FDIC using an online form that can be accessed at http://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC's Web site at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2004/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts, Financial Institution Letters and other announcements through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/news/news/announcements/index.html.

Michael J. Zamorski

Director
Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection