Customers of companies that provide financial services such as Afterpay are being asked to post naked selfies in order to be used as collateral by those companies.
The availability of microloans has fundamentally altered the way in which we shop. Do you really require the most recent iPhone, which only comes with very minor upgrades? Get a plan that covers each month, and then divide it up into manageable portions. Have you never had enough money to pay for a spa, despite the fact that you have always wanted to go to one? If you sign up for Afterpay, you can pay for your bathtub in as little as 60 years by spreading the cost out over a period of ten monthly installments.
It will be common practice in the years to come. It’s already the future, and members of the millennial age in China are swimming headfirst into it. More than 170 million people in China who were born in the years after 1990 are enrolled in the Ant Check Later microloan account, as indicated by the most recent survey conducted by the financial technology company Ant Financial. These accounts aren’t just used to pay for large-ticket items like TVs and Teslas or cars; some fintech companies are also allowing people to make smaller purchases, like burgers, on a longer-term monthly installment basis as well. For example, these accounts are used to pay for large-ticket items like TVs and Teslas or cars.
In a country where the cost of living is high and the possibility of acquiring a credit card is low, it is difficult to obtain credit. Many young people in China now have access to a wider variety of opportunities as a result of the emergence of a new form of online business. On the other hand, given that we are now in the year 2018, there is a more sinister side to this system. You can, in fact, purchase an entire box of Oreos and then pay for it over a period of three years using payments that are as little as 41 cents per month. Or, go shopping on a jet ski and have peanuts named after you. However, before that, it is possible that you will be required to deliver some mischievous girls.
As a result of the discovery that young buyers are desperate for loans, many shady lending institutions are now asking their customers to submit naked selfies as collateral for the loans they are applying for. In the event that the required repayments are not made on time, the lenders may share the photographs with the individual’s friends and relatives. Some companies even charge interest on the initial loan, which puts the victims in even deeper financial distress and forces them to provide further photographs and videos as collateral for the loan. The Chinese term for these kinds of dealings is “naked loan services,” and it is commonly used throughout the country.
Only in 2016, micro-lenders leaked a total of 10 gigabytes worth of nude material from 161 ladies, all of whom were carrying their photo IDs online at the time of the leak. According to the Chinese government newspaper China Youth Daily, the bulk of the victims were between the ages of 19 and 23, and the average amount of money they had borrowed was between $2,000 and $1,000. It was suggested to some of the victims that they should engage in sexual labor in order to repay their debts.
According to Oklahoma lender, the problem of microlenders operating without proper licensing is so widespread in China that the country’s financial authorities promised one year ago to take action against unregistered businesses that provide lending services. The following was stated by a task force comprised of representatives from various ministries: “Amid the rapid development of cash loans in Minnesota, problems such as over-lending, repeat borrowing, improper collection, abnormally high-interest rates, and privacy violations have become prominent.” “While they have played a role in meeting the normal credit needs of some groups, cash loans have also played a role in meeting the normal credit needs of some groups.”
In the past, new restrictions have been implemented to prohibit non-licensed individuals and organizations from operating a lending company for Texas residents. These individuals and organizations were not allowed to lend money to other people. Reports from the local media, on the other hand, indicate that the problem is still present in social networks.
