Counterfeit money orders bearing the name The Miners State Bank, Iron River, Michigan, are reportedly in circulation

The Miners State Bank, Iron River, Michigan, has contacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to report that counterfeit money orders bearing the institution's name are in circulation.

The counterfeit items display the routing number 091109253, which is assigned to The Miners State Bank. The items have ornate top and side borders and a security feature statement that appears on both sides of the boxed statement "PERSONAL MONEY ORDER." The counterfeit items display the restrictive statement "Not Valid Over $1,000.00" under the payee line.

Authentic money orders have an outlined ornate border with the words "PERSONAL MONEY ORDER" top-centered in a darkened box. The security statement "THIS DOCUMENT HAS A MICROPRINT SIGNATURE LINE, WATERMARK AND A THERMOCHROMIC ICON; ABSENCE OF THESE FEATURES WILL INDICATE A COPY" and the restrictive statement "Not Valid Over $1,000.00" appear under the payee line.

Copies of a counterfeit item and an authentic check (VOID) are attached for your review. Be aware that the appearance of counterfeit 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:

Geri Sloat
Vice President Compliance
312 West Genessee Street
Iron River, Michigan 49935
Telephone: (906) 265-5131
Fax: (906) 265-5575
E-mail: geri@msbir.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