Not very safe buying things here

180out

Well-known member
I bought my GXV from this site. 6 figure purchase. All done over the phone and with direct messages on this site. It was a great experience. However I did not exchange any funds until I had traveled the 2800 miles to Texas and touched/drove/inspected the truck. it was exactly what was advertised and every photo was legit. good thing as I bought a one way a plane ticket! just be smart, too good to be true usually is!
 

SDDiver5

Expedition Leader
Sorry to hear that happened. I almost had the same thing happen to me a few months ago but a fellow member gave me the heads up on the red flags. Then the seller got angry he and I were PMing each other.

So lets flip the script a little here and discuss what can be done to make this site safer for buying items from other members.

We've already discussed the seller:
- being pushy and in a rush
- demanding venmo or zelle
- talking about "other buyers"
- Another red flag I've seen is deleting prior posts

If you don't know, EP has the ability for 2 step authentication if someone tries to get into your profile.

Any other ideas?
 

GHI

Adventurer
Some people stay logged in all the time and others log out. I wonder which option is better for not getting hacked. I'd feel terrible if somebody used my account to scam others.
 

workerdrone

Part time fulltimer
If you don't know, EP has the ability for 2 step authentication if someone tries to get into your profile.
Thanks I hadn't realized - just added an Authenticator code to my account.

Expedition Portal is now more secure than my banks' websites lol

This drives me crazy but I guess they're covered by FDIC insurance so they don't feel they need to keep current with security practices.

2 factor codes sent to your email or phone via txt are not secure at all. SIM swapping and email account hacks are very common these days
 

sabjku

Observer
Sorry to hear that happened. I almost had the same thing happen to me a few months ago but a fellow member gave me the heads up on the red flags. Then the seller got angry he and I were PMing each other.

So lets flip the script a little here and discuss what can be done to make this site safer for buying items from other members.

We've already discussed the seller:
- being pushy and in a rush
- demanding venmo or zelle
- talking about "other buyers"
- Another red flag I've seen is deleting prior posts

If you don't know, EP has the ability for 2 step authentication if someone tries to get into your profile.

Any other ideas?
In addition to the red flags above, I don't EVER buy anything, from anyone online, without having a physical phone conversation with them through video. Show me your face, show me the item, etc. If someone isn't willing to do that, they're a scammer.
 

ThundahBeagle

Well-known member
@Dendy Jarrett

@ktmk36 posted a for sale thread on a come-up winch at what seemed like a STEAL. The only thing that was a steal was them trying to steal people's money. So I messaged them about it and they were very pushy and impatient. They wanted to know if I was ready to pay right now and wanted payment via venmo. I told them I only pay via Paypal for the buyer protection. They replied that if I didn't pay via venmo they have two others that reached out and they would just move to the next person. It was enough red flags for me to pass on it. Account needs to be locked or banned.

Sorry to hear that they scammed someone here.

If something sounds like a steal, it IS.

If it sounds too good to be true, it isnt

Sorry you got hit (op)
 

ThundahBeagle

Well-known member
Yeah watch out!
By the way a private well managed Face Book Parents group I’m in. We had a well known parent get her account hacked. And another parent “bought concert tickets” from the hacker thinking it was the well known member. $3000 lost…

We all now tell people face to face meet up or no deal.

Simplest way to circumvent a technology based hack (Phishing scam, Ransomware) is the non-technology route of confirmation. Cash and face to face.

City of Quincy Massachusetts retirement board got taken, I think to the tune of 3.5 million dollars because a board member's account got hacked. They were a person of some gravitas as they asked for the money to be transferred to an account, and the unfortunate party did in fact move that money as directed. Bye bye. It wasnt really the board member.

Dont even trust accounts that you know. As they could be hacked. Verify. Not by reaching back by email. But in person whenever possible, it maybe by telephone if you know the person and voice.

No matter how sophisticated our IT-level antivirus and endpoint protection, it is no match for social engineering where someone is tricked into giving their password
 

LikeABoss

Observer
This problem is only going to get worse. Seems this one got a couple of us and tempted a few more. Red flags were raised. It took me 4 days of doubt, not wanting to slander someone, before it became clear enough to call out his other ads. We need to call the **************** without wrecking it for the rest of us. What’s the safeword here?
 

sn_85

Observer
I get that moderators aren't responsible for sales and dealings on here but it's a little concerning that this post was made days ago, multiple people have been scammed, and a moderator was tagged in this thread and yet the scam account is still active. Where are the moderators? Yes I get that it's the holidays but Expedition Portal and Overland Journal is no longer a small operation, it's a corporate entity at this point. I would have expected the account to be locked, banned and for a moderator to at least chime in by now...
 

ThundahBeagle

Well-known member
I get that moderators aren't responsible for sales and dealings on here but it's a little concerning that this post was made days ago, multiple people have been scammed, and a moderator was tagged in this thread and yet the scam account is still active. Where are the moderators? Yes I get that it's the holidays but Expedition Portal and Overland Journal is no longer a small operation, it's a corporate entity at this point. I would have expected the account to be locked, banned and for a moderator to at least chime in by now...

Sorry to hear that happened. I almost had the same thing happen to me a few months ago but a fellow member gave me the heads up on the red flags. Then the seller got angry he and I were PMing each other.

So lets flip the script a little here and discuss what can be done to make this site safer for buying items from other members.

We've already discussed the seller:
- being pushy and in a rush
- demanding venmo or zelle
- talking about "other buyers"
- Another red flag I've seen is deleting prior posts

If you don't know, EP has the ability for 2 step authentication if someone tries to get into your profile.

Any other ideas?
Those are sort of the age old cautions, right?

.Pushy sales people mean to push you into a corner
.Any demand for alternative payments, especially sight unseen, is bs and always has been.
. Talking about other buyer is to get you all hopped up to make a bad decision
.Deleting prior posts, or not wanting you to speak with previous customers (that's also why he is in a rush) i.e. covering his tracks

I'm sorry for anyone who got hit but you really have remove all emotion and pay attention to the warning signs that are old as dirt and go way way back, before the internet. Phishing is spelled with a PH because is came from scams over the phone. Before that was chain letters and advertisements in the New York Times looking to sell a bridge. Before that was snake oil salesmen and gypsies

Dont blame the website. These guys aren't Amazon or eBay. I'm guessing Expedition Portal has to check everything out for themselves before making a decision, which is what you should have done. Everyone here who was fleeced, practically said they went against their better judgment or threw caution to the wind. It happens to the best of us sometimes.
 

ThundahBeagle

Well-known member
Some people stay logged in all the time and others log out. I wonder which option is better for not getting hacked. I'd feel terrible if somebody used my account to scam others.
Their personal email could have been pushed. From that maybe a goigle dox of passwords discovered. And maybe they used the same password for multiple accounts, so the usurper hopped on here to see about making some dough
 

sn_85

Observer
Those are sort of the age old cautions, right?

.Pushy sales people mean to push you into a corner
.Any demand for alternative payments, especially sight unseen, is bs and always has been.
. Talking about other buyer is to get you all hopped up to make a bad decision
.Deleting prior posts, or not wanting you to speak with previous customers (that's also why he is in a rush) i.e. covering his tracks

I'm sorry for anyone who got hit but you really have remove all emotion and pay attention to the warning signs that are old as dirt and go way way back, before the internet. Phishing is spelled with a PH because is came from scams over the phone. Before that was chain letters and advertisements in the New York Times looking to sell a bridge. Before that was snake oil salesmen and gypsies

Dont blame the website. These guys aren't Amazon or eBay. I'm guessing Expedition Portal has to check everything out for themselves before making a decision, which is what you should have done. Everyone here who was fleeced, practically said they went against their better judgment or threw caution to the wind. It happens to the best of us sometimes.

To be clear about this, I was not scammed by the person. I reached out to them asking about the winch and I didn’t like their pushy attitude. Fortunately I followed my instinct and intuition and passed on the deal. There were however at least a few people that were scammed by the account.

The purpose of a forum MODERATOR is to moderate. There is clear evidence that the account is either compromised or the person is a scammer. The account needs to be banned and locked, plain and simple. No they can’t do anything retroactively and no they can’t police every deal on here. But when a post like this is made and multiple people have scammed they should at the very least chime in and acknowledge the complaint.
 

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