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 chief procurator (检察长) 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. Fujian Regulatory Bureau of the National Financial Regulatory Administration (formerly the Fujian Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau) (2022). Risk Warning on Preventing New Tricks of Bad Loan Intermediaries [in Chinese] (September 14, 2022). https://www.nfra.gov.cn/branch/fujian/view/pages/common/ItemDetail.html?docId=1072844&itemId=1104&generaltype=0
2. Shandong Regulatory Bureau of the National Financial Regulatory Administration (2024). Risk Warning: Beware of the Risks of Illegal Loan Intermediaries' "AB Loans" [in Chinese] (March 14, 2024). https://www.nfra.gov.cn/branch/shandong/view/pages/common/ItemDetail.html?docId=1154326&itemId=1269&generaltype=0
3. Putuo District People's Court, Shanghai (2024). Explaining the Law Through a Case: Can You Still Get a Large Loan With a Poor Credit Record? Beware of the "AB Loan" Trap [in Chinese]. https://www.shpt.gov.cn/fyzx-fy/20240920/953017.html (republished by the Putuo District People's Government website, Shanghai)
4. Tang Yifei (2025). The Need for Criminal Regulation of "Intermediary Scams in Loan Facilitation" [in Chinese]. Procuratorial Daily, theory page. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/llyj/202506/t20250607_697711.shtml (website of the Supreme People's Procuratorate)
5. National People's Congress (2020). Civil Code [in Chinese] (Articles 149, 152, 465, 551 and 675). https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202006/t20200602_463888.shtml
6. National People's Congress Standing Committee (2023 amendment). Civil Procedure Law [in Chinese] (Article 152). https://fgw.sh.gov.cn/ys-syjf-zc-2.4.1-h5/20240408/073febdb2b04464390546232d4089f51.html (republished by the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission)
7. State Council (2006). Measures on the Payment of Litigation Costs [in Chinese] (State Council Order No. 481, Article 6). https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2008-03/28/content_6929.htm
8. Sichuan Changan Net (sponsored by the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee; source: Sichuan Rule of Law Daily) (2025). One "Face Scan" Left Her With a Loan of Tens of Thousands of Yuan; Court: Parties Should Foresee the Importance of Face Recognition and the Legal Consequences [in Chinese] (September 23, 2025). https://www.sichuanpeace.gov.cn/azsf/20250923/2992615.html
9. Xinzhou Intermediate People's Court, Shanxi Province (republished from the People's Court Daily) (2021). A Woman Was Sued for Repayment After Being "Face-Scanned" Into Applying for a Card and Loan [in Chinese] (August 19, 2021). https://sxxzzy.shanxify.gov.cn/article/detail/2021/08/id/6215123.shtml
10. National People's Congress Standing Committee (2019). Electronic Signature Law [in Chinese] (2019 amendment, Articles 3, 13, 14 and 15). https://flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=ff8080816f135f46016f2163e4261aa1
11. National People's Congress Standing Committee (2022). Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law [in Chinese] (Articles 31 and 44). 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