I added someone from my apartment group chat to exchange currency. The rate was always the real-time rate, so I never noticed anything suspicious before.
The pattern is that I can only wait until he has however many USD available to exchange — maybe once a week, sometimes a few times. Each time it's basically a few hundred to a thousand, almost always under $2,500. Each time it's basically a different Chinese name, and occasionally the same name will exchange a bit more a day later. Then I transfer RMB to the Alipay merchant account he gives me at the real-time rate.
After all, I added him from the apartment group chat, but we've never met in person... I figured everyone living here works at big tech companies, so I didn't think too much about it — that was my mistake. Now that I went back and checked the Zelle transfer records and names, something looks a bit off? At best, he's a middleman? After all, they're all Chinese names? At worst, I'm honestly afraid he's running a scam... What am I supposed to do now... Should I proactively close my account just to be safe... Does anyone have experience to share...
