China: In China’s version of the Squid Game, swindlers are attempting to profit from promises of reward income, debt restructuring, and other schemes that aren’t always what they promise.
Chinese players who take on” self-discipline” challenges don’t risk their lives if they fail, unlike the dystopian South Korean TV series, which returns to the small screen for a second season on Thursday ( Dec 26 ).
However, authorities have discovered that some people who are participating in confinement difficulties who pay hundreds of dollars to stay in a place for days while adhering to the rules in exchange for winning up to 1 million renminbi ( US$ 140, 000 ) are being defrauded. Additionally, law enforcement is is is issuing a reminder about shady debt reduction states.
Isolation difficulties, usually advertised on Flickr, as TikTok is known in China, have risen in popularity this year as the country’s second-biggest market slows. In the three times to September, it increased at the slowest rate in more than a year, prompting policymakers to vow new measures to increase family incomes among other things.
The long list of rules included restrictions on touching the alarm time more than half a day and potty breaks not exceeding 15 hours.
Some players yell bad when they fail to survive their first day for violations reported on surveillance cameras, which they object to.
A judge in the southeast province of Shandong ordered an organizer to deposit a person named Sun who had signed up for a deal that was cruel and “violated people order and good morals” in October.
Sun was attempting to win 250, 000 renminbi by surviving a 30-day confinement challenge that required rules prohibiting alcohol consumption, electric device use, smoking, and other forms of contact with outside the room.
The organizers claimed Sun had used a bed to cover his face on the second day of the challenge, breaking the rule prohibiting players from obscure their faces.
The Cyberspace Administration of China, which regulates the government’s online, and ByteDance, user of Douyin, did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The National Financial Regulatory Authority ( NFRA ) warned the public on Tuesday to stay away from “debt intermediaries” that promise to help people restructure their borrowings or raise their credit scores.
These intermediaries advertise their services on social media and phone, text, flyers, and other platforms, promising to help customers safe fresh loans or provide temporary funds, but the controller warned that the services come with a higher fee.
According to the state-backed National Business Daily, media companies charge as much as 12 % of the loan’s worth in” support fees.”
According to the NFRA, which warned that consumers ‘ private information might also be leaked or sold, significant costs are being charged to fundamentally assist creditors in repairing their credit files.
China’s household loans totalled 82.47 trillion yuan ( US$ 11.3 trillion ) in November, according to central bank data.