Refuse when an acquaintance asks you to "scan your face and be a witness" to take out a loan, or asks you to read out a verification code: this is called an AB loan (AB贷), and the borrower is you, not a guarantor

Cost

Free. The hard part is saying no in person to relatives and friends. Say no even when they say "you're just a witness" or "you won't be responsible." Don't hand your phone, ID card or bank card to an intermediary, and don't scan your face or sign as the intermediary arranges. Use verification codes only yourself, and don't read them out even to an acquaintance.

What you get

A 2022 risk notice from the Fujian office of the National Financial Regulatory Administration (金融监管总局福建监管局) describes this script. Customer A does not qualify and cannot get a loan. The intermediary says a guarantor is needed and tells A to find a well-qualified B. When it is actually carried out, the intermediary uses B's identity information to apply for the loan, and the money goes to A. In the original words, "the borrower is in fact B," and B "learned only when the bank came to collect that he was the borrower and not the guarantor." A 2024 notice from the Shandong office says the intermediary promises B "you won't bear any responsibility." The intermediary also coaches B beforehand on how to handle the bank's pre-loan inquiry, while in reality B applies for the loan as the borrower. The Putuo District Court in Shanghai (上海普陀区法院) published a case in 2024. A salesperson took B's phone, downloaded the bank app and applied for the loan directly in B's name. The money arrived in B's account, B transferred it to A, and A then paid more than 80,000 (8万多) CNY in fees. A gang of 8 intermediaries was convicted of the crime of contract fraud (合同诈骗罪) and sentenced to between 10 months and 4 years. Even though the intermediaries were sentenced, the loan did not become anyone else's. Civil Code (民法典) Article 149 says that where a third party commits fraud, the deceived party may seek to rescind only if the other party "knew or should have known." Here the other party is the bank, and if the bank did not know, there is no rescission. Where rescission is possible, the request must be made to the court within 1 year from the day the deception was learned (Article 152). A borrower must repay within the agreed term (Article 675). A contract binds only those who made it (Article 465). Transferring a debt to someone else requires the bank's consent (Article 551). So the promise A wrote does not bind the bank. The money can only be claimed by suing A yourself. The courts also hold you to it if you scanned your face for someone without reading the contract. In 2025 the Shizhong District Court in Neijiang (内江市市中区法院) concluded a case: Jiang Moumou (蒋某) could not borrow from a small-loan company on her own. Zhang Mou's (张某) son, behind her back, gave her identity information to Jiang and made her a co-borrower. The loan process required her to scan her face in person, and she did, without reading the contract. The court said she "should have foreseen the importance and legal consequences of face recognition" and ordered her and Jiang to repay together the remaining principal of more than 60,000 (6万多) CNY. The Electronic Signature Law (电子签名法) states that "a reliable electronic signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature or seal." The Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law (反电信网络诈骗法) provides that no one may "provide real-name verification assistance," and violators are fined, and in serious cases detained. A first-instance trial under the ordinary procedure must be concluded within 6 months, which can be extended. Lawyer's fees are not among the statutory litigation costs, and you pay them yourself (China)

Notes

The beneficiary is mainly you, and the A who comes to you is most likely a relative or friend. A procurator in Pudong, Shanghai wrote that B often, out of consideration for the relationship, goes along even knowing it is their own loan, and ends up the target of the bank's collection. If you really want to help, first ask what your role on the contract is, and don't sign if it is a loan contract. If you are willing to guarantee, sign a guarantee contract as a guarantor; see §8.18 (guaranteeing someone else's debt). If a loan has already been taken out in your name, call the police first, then call the number on the lending bank's official website to explain, and keep the chat and transfer records. To see how many loans are under your name, see §8.9 (check your credit report). During the bank's pre-loan questions don't answer as the intermediary taught you, because falsifying may make you liable yourself; see §9.6 (packaging materials for a loan). Face scans and electronic confirmations count as signing as well; see §8.17 (read the whole paper before you sign). The courts do not always make the person repay either: in 2021 the Guangzhou Internet Court (广州互联网法院) ruled for a person whose ID card was stolen and who reported and reported it lost on the spot, because the bank could not produce evidence that she herself scanned her face. So if your ID card is lost, report it to the police and report the loss right away, and keep the receipt. Asking for another method when an institution wants a face scan is a separate matter; see §14.9 (you don't have to agree to a face scan). For similar scripts that borrow your name, see §8.28 (figurehead legal representative). Don't lend out your phone and accounts; see §8.8 (don't lend your bank card). This is graded B because the regulators gave only the script and cases, with no statistics on the number of victims or amounts.

Evidence grade

B : Supported by research but without a precise number, or based on small or single studies.

Sources

1. 国家金融监督管理总局福建监管局（原福建银保监局） (2022). 关于防范不良贷款中介新型套路的风险提示（2022 年 9 月 14 日）. https://www.nfra.gov.cn/branch/fujian/view/pages/common/ItemDetail.html?docId=1072844&itemId=1104&generaltype=0
2. 国家金融监督管理总局山东监管局 (2024). 风险提示：警惕非法贷款中介AB贷风险（2024 年 3 月 14 日）. https://www.nfra.gov.cn/branch/shandong/view/pages/common/ItemDetail.html?docId=1154326&itemId=1269&generaltype=0
3. 上海市普陀区人民法院 (2024). 以案释法：征信不好仍可办理大额贷款？小心「AB贷」陷阱. https://www.shpt.gov.cn/fyzx-fy/20240920/953017.html（上海市普陀区人民政府网转载）
4. 唐逸飞 (2025). 有必要对「助贷中介套路欺诈」予以刑事规制. 检察日报理论版. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/llyj/202506/t20250607_697711.shtml（最高人民检察院官网）
5. 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一百四十九、一百五十二、四百六十五、五百五十一、六百七十五条）. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202006/t20200602_463888.shtml
6. 全国人大常委会 (2023 修正). 民事诉讼法（第一百五十二条）. https://fgw.sh.gov.cn/ys-syjf-zc-2.4.1-h5/20240408/073febdb2b04464390546232d4089f51.html（上海市发展改革委转载）
7. 国务院 (2006). 诉讼费用交纳办法（国务院令第 481 号，第六条）. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2008-03/28/content_6929.htm
8. 四川长安网（中共四川省委政法委员会主办，来源四川法治报）(2025). 一次「刷脸」让她背上数万元贷款 法院：当事人应当预见人脸识别的重要性及法律后果（2025 年 9 月 23 日）. https://www.sichuanpeace.gov.cn/azsf/20250923/2992615.html
9. 山西省忻州市中级人民法院（转载人民法院报）(2021). 一女子「被刷脸」办卡贷款后被起诉还钱（2021 年 8 月 19 日）. https://sxxzzy.shanxify.gov.cn/article/detail/2021/08/id/6215123.shtml
10. 全国人大常委会 (2019). 电子签名法（2019 年修正，第三、十三、十四、十五条）. https://flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=ff8080816f135f46016f2163e4261aa1
11. 全国人大常委会 (2022). 反电信网络诈骗法（第三十一、四十四条）. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202209/t20220902_575631.shtml

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 8, tip 45. This section describes legal rules, mostly mainland China’s. It is general information, not legal advice; for your own case, talk to a lawyer. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer