Fraudulent certified checks bearing the name Bank of Birmingham are reportedly in circulation

Bank of Birmingham, Birmingham, Michigan has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that fraudulent certified checks bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The fraudulent items display the routing number 072414226, which is assigned to Bank of Birmingham. Bank of Birmingham does not issue certified checks; however, it does issue official checks. The fraudulent items display "****CERTIFIED CHECK***" in the top center and "Bank of Birmingham" in the lower-left corner.

Authentic official checks display the routing number 011007092, which is assigned to Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Company, Boston, Massachusetts. Bank of Birmingham issues official checks through Moneygram Payment Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota, payable through Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Company. The words "OFFICIAL CHECK" appear inside of a rectangle embedded in the center of the top border. The bank's logo, name, city and state appear in the top-left corner.

Copies of a fraudulent item and an authentic check (VOID) are attached for your review. Be aware that the appearance of fraudulent items can be modified and that additional variations may be presented. Any information you have concerning this matter should be brought to the attention of:

Amy DePriest
Bank Secrecy Act Officer/Compliance Specialist
Bank of Birmingham
33583 Woodward Avenue
Birmingham, Michigan 48009
Telephone: (248) 283-6481
Fax: (248) 593-9055
E-mail: Amy.DePriest@bkofb.com

Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents and other fraudulent activity may be forwarded to the FDIC's Cyber-Fraud and Financial Crimes Section, 550 17th Street, N.W., Room F-4004, Washington, D.C. 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov. Questions 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 website at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2009/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Sandra L. ThompsonDirector
Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection