BEIJING — Women in China are sending naked photographs of themselves holding their ID cards to peer-to-peer lenders as collateral, Chinese state media have reported, in a trend that may involve thousands of people. The phenomenon, which the Beijing Youth Daily said was taking place on a popular online peer-to-peer lender called Jiedaibao, is provoking alarm and sympathy on social media. As the circle of debt widened, so did the distribution of the naked photographs, until they were in the hands of three online lenders, Beijing Youth Daily reported. “High interest, ‘naked holding’ and so on are the private actions of users; this company cannot interfere,” Beijing Youth Daily quoted Jiedaibao as saying in response to the reports of such behavior among users. When she could not repay, the lender threatened to show the photographs to her family and friends, the newspaper reported.

Source: New York Times June 15, 2016 20:36 UTC