Vancouver teacher unwittingly caught up in Nigerian check scam

VANCOUVER, Wa. - A Vancouver teacher learned a valuable lesson on Monday - if it's too good to be true, then it probably is.

It all started when the unemployed teacher, who asked to remain anonymous for this story, responded to an ad on Craigslist seeking customer service agents. The advertising company offered $18 per hour and requested applicants to have good phone skills and the ability to develop a nice rapport with others. 

The man, who has a background in sales, got the job and soon began printing out checks for thousands of dollars to people across the country, and then mailing them overnight.

The checks seemed legitimate and the mysterious employer even provided routing numbers and account numbers.

"They were drawn from a Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco, so I figured they were legit", said the Vancouver teacher.

After sending seven of the checks and while he was in the midst of printing more, he received a wake-up call when it was discovered that the overnight mailing account he had been using was stolen from another company.

Thanks to the quick thinking of an agent of the United Parcel Service, the mailing code was red-flagged and the scam put to a stop.

Authorities warn others of such scams on Craigslist and to be extra cautious with any similar type of job offers.

For now, the Vancouver man isn't in any legal trouble, but he did spend $20 of his own money buying the blank checks.