A 5miles “buyer” sends a cashier’s check, money order, or corporate check for more than your asking price, then asks you to refund the difference—by wire, Zelle, Cash App, Venmo Friends & Family, or gift cards—before the instrument fully clears. Funds can look available at Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, or a credit union for days, then the check returns unpaid and you are short whatever you already forwarded. This page is the overpayment / fake-check lane; meetup and off-app payment cousins live in Fake 5miles meetup scams. Letgo-era cousins: Fake Letgo overpayment scams.
Broader map: Credit and debt scams. Gift-card extracts: Gift cards and prepaid debit risks. General fake-check patterns: Fake overpayment check scams.
How the overpayment script works
| Step | What they say | What actually happens |
|---|---|---|
| Inflated instrument | “My office cut a $850 check for your $300 dresser by mistake” | Counterfeit or stolen-account check |
| Urgency | “Driver is already en route—refund $550 to the shipper now” | You send real money while the check is still provisional |
| Off-app chat | Move to SMS / WhatsApp / email | Harder to report inside 5miles tools |
| Payment channel | Wire, Western Union, MoneyGram, Zelle, Cash App, gift cards | Hard or impossible to reverse (Zelle and P2P scams) |
| Ghost | Account deleted after you pay | Bank clawback leaves you owing the deposit |
5miles markets itself as a local buy-and-sell app. Treat any “extra” payment as a hard stop—even if the PDF looks like a real credit-union cashier’s check from a named bank.
Red flags specific to overpayment
- Asking price is local and small; payment arrives from out of state for a much larger amount.
- Buyer will not do cash at a public meetup and insists on a mailed check or bank draft first.
- “Shipping company,” “moving crew,” or “procurement office” needs the difference wired same day.
- Pressure to refund before your bank confirms the check has fully cleared (posted availability is not clearance).
- Refusal to use in-person payment when the listing is marked local pickup only.
Worked example: the $300 dresser
Jordan lists a used dresser for $300 on 5miles. “Chris” texts a PDF of a $825 cashier’s check, says a logistics contractor will pick up, and asks Jordan to Zelle or wire $525 change. Jordan deposits the check at Bank of America; $825 shows as available after two business days. Jordan Zelles $525. Eleven days later the check is returned unpaid. Jordan is out roughly $525 (plus any fees) while the Zelle is gone—and if the dresser was handed over, that too.
Jordan’s recovery path: call the bank fraud desk the same day; ask about a Zelle recall (often unsuccessful once paid out); report through 5miles’s flag tools and ReportFraud.ftc.gov; file a local police report if needed for the bank’s claim file; do not pay a “recovery specialist” who cold-calls afterward. Safer path: cash only at a police-station lot, exact asking price, no third-party refunds.
Safer seller habits
- Prefer in-person cash (or a platform checkout that holds funds when one exists) for local 5miles deals.
- Never accept a check for more than the agreed price. Never refund “extras.”
- If you must take a check, wait until your bank confirms final clearance—not provisional credit—before releasing the item or sending any money.
- Keep negotiations in 5miles messaging until meetup; be wary of rapid off-app switches paired with overpayment.
- Ignore buyers who will only deal through Western Union, MoneyGram, crypto ATMs, or gift cards.
Named brands that appear in these scripts include 5miles, OfferUp, Letgo, Western Union, MoneyGram, Zelle, Cash App, Venmo, Apple / Google Play gift cards, and mobile-deposit flows at major banks and credit unions. Logos on a PDF do not make the instrument good.
If you already refunded an overpayment
- Contact your bank or credit union’s fraud line immediately; ask about recalls and provisional-credit disputes.
- For Western Union / MoneyGram, call their fraud lines the same day—intercepts sometimes work if uncollected.
- Preserve the ad, emails, check images, and wire receipts.
- File ReportFraud.ftc.gov and consider a police report for large losses.
- Monitor accounts; consider freezes at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion if you shared ID images.
Checklist
- Exact price only—refuse any overpayment story.
- Local listing → prefer local cash; no mailed checks for small consumer goods.
- Availability ≠ cleared; never refund on provisional funds.
- Skip wires, gift cards, and Friends & Family P2P for 5miles strangers.
- Document everything; report clear scams even when you walked away.
- Teach household members the same overpayment rule for OfferUp and Craigslist.
Kijiji overpayment cousins: Fake Kijiji overpayment scams. Facebook Marketplace / Buy Sell Group overpayment cousins: Fake Facebook Buy Sell overpayment scams.
Educational only. Not legal, banking, or fraud-recovery advice. Marketplace brands, app policies, and bank clearance windows vary; verify payment safety pages on 5miles and with your own bank.