The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has received numerous reports of a fraudulent e-mail that has the appearance of being sent from the FDIC.
The e-mail appears to be sent from a “Fdic.gov Alert Service [mailto: subscriptions@ fdic.gov]” e-mail address and has a subject line that reads: “SA-28-2011: Counterfeit Cashier’s Checks Alert.”
The e-mail states that:
- “The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has to report that counterfeit cashier’s checks bearing the institution’s name are in circulation.”
It further states: “The counterfeit items display a large variaty of routing numbers, which are assigned to a large number to small and medium size banks all over USA. The items are blue, have rounded corners, and display a security feature statement embedded within a darkened top border. The bank’s logo, name, and Web site address appear near the top-left corner of the counterfeit items.
Authentic cashier’s checks are yellow and display a security padlock icon at the end of the written dollar amount line. The bank’s logo, name, and Web site address are in the top-center area.
Copies of a counterfeit item and an authentic check (VOID) can be seen at https://fdic.gov/starsmail/check.sample.asp for your your review.”
The e-mail attempts to trick recipients into clicking on a link directing recipients to a fraudulent Web site.
This e-mail and link are fraudulent. Recipients should consider the intent of this e-mail as an attempt to collect personal or confidential information, or to load malicious software onto end users’ computers. Recipients should not click on the link provided.
The FDIC does not issue unsolicited e-mails to consumers or business account holders.