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Read: 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' Is Coming Back Pretty, Pretty, Pretty SoonDodgy internet lenders in China are reportedly getting female college students to provide nude pictures of themselves as collateral in a loan-for-porn scheme.
In this creepy arrangement, reported by Chinese media this week, students have agreed to send nude photos of themselves holding their ids to lenders. After doing so, the girls are then eligible for higher loan amounts—two to five times the normal sum, according to Beijing Youth Daily. The lenders told the students that they'd publish the photos online if the loans aren't repaid in time, with extreme interest rates.
The site's online leaders allegedly preyed on young people who may be out of pocket or lacking in financial experience. One female student told the Beijing Youth Daily that she wanted to start a small business, so in February agreed to send nude photos to private lenders in exchange for about $18,000. Within four months, the debt she owed had more than doubled. After being threatened by her lenders, she was forced to ask her family for money to avoid having her photos put online.
These arrangements are taking place on JD Capital's Jiedaibao website—a platform where people, often friends and acquaintances, can borrow or lend money, making their own agreements. In a statement to the Guardian, a spokesperson for the company condemned the loans, saying, "This kind of naked loan is actually taking advantage of the online platform to operate an illegal usurious offline business." They said they will work with the police to investigate this and similar practices.