PA-28 pilot reported near midair collision during cruise with aircraft who was possibly on incorrect...

Narrative:

VFR flight en route 5500 ft direct [eastbound; to the destination]; incident happened near shoreline near ZZZ (exact distance not recorded.)requested VFR flight following. Happened approximately 5 mins after the handover from [hand-off between TRACON controllers]. Both ATC facilities advised traffic. Pilot had traffic in sight the whole time but had no knowledge of the other aircraft's make/type; speed; intention; direction. Pilot exercised extreme caution. The other aircraft was not in communication with the same ATC frequency and was probably on an incorrect VFR altitude.ATC did not advise avoidance action; and I was not able to estimate the vertical distance until in close vicinity. It was eventually made aware to me at a close distance that the two aircrafts were on converging courses. The other aircraft passed 200-300 ft over my aircraft.I should have followed right of ways rules earlier to avoid potential hazards but the other aircraft was clearly on an incorrect altitude (cruising at 5500 ft on 180-359 heading). This flight is one of my very first flights after my ppl [private pilots license] check ride and my second night x-country. This will indeed be a very important lesson for my future flying.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA-28 pilot reported NMAC during cruise with aircraft who was possibly on incorrect VFR altitude.

Narrative: VFR flight en route 5500 ft direct [eastbound; to the destination]; incident happened near shoreline near ZZZ (exact distance not recorded.)Requested VFR flight following. Happened approximately 5 mins after the handover from [hand-off between TRACON controllers]. Both ATC facilities advised traffic. Pilot had traffic in sight the whole time but had no knowledge of the other aircraft's make/type; speed; intention; direction. Pilot exercised extreme caution. The other aircraft was not in communication with the same ATC frequency and was probably on an incorrect VFR altitude.ATC did not advise avoidance action; and I was not able to estimate the vertical distance until in close vicinity. It was eventually made aware to me at a close distance that the two aircrafts were on converging courses. The other aircraft passed 200-300 ft over my aircraft.I should have followed right of ways rules earlier to avoid potential hazards but the other aircraft was clearly on an incorrect altitude (cruising at 5500 FT on 180-359 heading). This flight is one of my very first flights after my PPL [Private Pilots License] check ride and my second night x-country. This will indeed be a very important lesson for my future flying.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1658948
Time
Date	201906
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	PA-28 Cherokee/Archer/Dakota/Pillan/Warrior
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	None
Aircraft 2
Flight Phase	Cruise
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Private
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 33 Flight Crew Total 97 Flight Crew Type 97
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Conflict NMAC
Miss Distance	Vertical 300

PA-28 pilot reported near midair collision during cruise with aircraft who was possibly on incorrect VFR altitude.