A Facebook Buy/Sell/Trade “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 Zelle, Cash App, Venmo Friends & Family, wire, 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 for Buy/Sell Groups; broader group payment and shipping scripts live in Fake Facebook Buy/Sell Group scams. Craigslist cousins: Fake Craigslist 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 assistant cut a $1,400 check for your $500 dresser by mistake” | Counterfeit or stolen-account check |
| Urgency | “Moving crew needs the $900 difference today” | You send real money while the check is still provisional |
| Off-group chat | Move to Messenger → WhatsApp / SMS / Gmail | Harder to report inside the Facebook Group tools |
| Payment channel | Zelle, Cash App, wire, Western Union, Apple / Google Play cards | Hard or impossible to reverse (Zelle and P2P scams) |
| Ghost | Profile deleted or muted after you pay | Bank clawback leaves you owing the deposit |
Meta’s own safety guidance warns against accepting overpayments and paying off Facebook. Treat any “extra” as a hard stop—even if the PDF looks like a real credit-union cashier’s check.
Red flags specific to Buy/Sell Group 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 first.
- “Shipping company,” “moving crew,” or “procurement office” needs the difference 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 post is marked local pickup.
Worked example: the $450 patio set
Sam lists a used patio set for $450 in a local Facebook Buy/Sell Group. “Alex” DMs a PDF of a $1,150 cashier’s check drawn on a credit union Sam does not recognize, says a logistics contractor will pick up, and asks Sam to Zelle $700 change. Sam deposits the check at Bank of America; $1,150 shows as available after two business days. Sam Zelles $700. Twelve days later the check is returned unpaid. Sam is out roughly $700 (plus any fees) while the P2P payment is gone—and if the patio set was handed over, that too.
Sam’s recovery path: call the bank fraud desk the same day; ask about a Zelle or wire recall (often unsuccessful once paid out); report through Facebook’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 Facebook/Meta checkout tools that hold funds when they exist) for local Buy/Sell Group 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 the Group or Facebook Messenger until meetup; be wary of rapid WhatsApp 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 Facebook, Meta Pay, 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 Group post, Messenger thread, check images, and payment 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 Group post → 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 Buy/Sell Group strangers.
- Document everything; report clear scams even when you walked away.
- Teach household members the same overpayment rule for Marketplace and OfferUp.
Marketplace buyer overpayment cousins: Fake Facebook Marketplace buyer scams. Nextdoor overpayment cousins: Fake Nextdoor overpayment scams.
Educational only. Not legal, banking, or fraud-recovery advice. Group rules, Meta payment tools, and bank clearance windows vary; verify safety pages on Facebook and with your own bank.