If he hadn't believed in the promotion of 'renting a machine to cash out', he wouldn't have owed so much money. "For months, every morning, Shu Zheng (pseudonym) would receive calls from debt collectors, becoming an unforgettable nightmare. Looking at the tens of thousands of yuan in debt figures on his phone screen, he was filled with regret. Currently, some online platforms have developed a tactic of "renting a phone to cash out", in which loan intermediaries induce users to rent a phone on the platform and then cash out the loan after receiving it. Although users do not need to directly pay high interest rates to intermediaries, their income is far below the value of the equipment, and they also need to bear high rent and "buyout fees", with actual annualized interest rates generally exceeding the limit. How does "rental loan" borrow the name of electronic product leasing and engage in disguised high interest loans? The reporter conducted an investigation into the operational mechanisms and methods behind it. For some time now, Wang Li (pseudonym), a young man from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, has been receiving hundreds of debt collection messages every day through his mobile phone, making the operation of "rental monetization" simple. Starting from 2023, he rented over 40 mobile phones on more than 30 platforms, cashed out more than 200000 yuan, but currently owes nearly 500000 yuan in debt. In November 2023, when Wang Li was worried about how to fill his online lending hole, a sales call came in. A man who claimed to be an intermediary claimed to have "internal channels that allow him to rent a phone and monetize it," persuading him to rent a phone at a high price on a rental platform and sell it to an intermediary to cash out. This way, he can repay his online loan without having to pay a down payment. This seemingly urgent operation is actually a carefully designed trap. After Wang Li tasted the sweetness in his first attempt, the agent constantly urged him to "use rent to support loans". During that time, he rented more than 40 mobile phones on some platforms, and each phone actually cashed out four to five thousand yuan, but the total debt accumulated to 600000 yuan. Now, the intermediary who helped him cash out has disappeared without a trace, and he still owes the rental platform more than 500000 yuan, which has been collected by debt collectors through regular and designated phone calls. How is "renting a machine to cash out" operated and monetized? In March of this year, the reporter contacted multiple rental agencies under the pretext of "urgent need for capital turnover". A real estate agent surnamed Zhang said that as long as the Sesame Credit score reaches 600 or above, the rental process can be easily initiated. "There is no need to check credit records, the operation is simple, and it can be completed in only 3-5 minutes. Today's review is approved, and the recycler immediately transfers the money. The intermediary also imparted skills to renters on how to respond to platform inquiries: if the platform asks about the rental purpose, it should be referred to as personal use and not mention the intention of cashing out; When asked about repayment ability, simply answer 'good'. When introducing the follow-up process, he said: "Don't open the phone after it is delivered to you. I will arrange a courier to pick it up. When the courier arrives, you can start a video call and return the money to you after receiving it." Under the guidance of an intermediary surnamed Zhang, the reporter entered a small machine rental program in Alipay. Taking a 256GB Apple phone as an example, the mini program shows that the phone is rented for one year, with a first month rent of only 1 yuan. However, starting from the second month, for 11 consecutive months, the monthly rent is about 420 yuan. Due to the intermediary's intention to resell this mobile phone for cash, the renter is unable to return the phone after the lease term ends. They also need to pay a "buyout fee" of nearly 7500 yuan in the 12th month, with a total payment of up to 12000 yuan. According to Alipay's Regulations on the Management of Leasing Industry, a long-term lease is defined as a lease with a lease term of more than 90 days, and the total annual rent plus the amount of sales of long-term leased goods should not exceed 130% of the price on the official website of the goods. The price of this phone has exceeded the regulation by 10%. The current market price of this model is about 8500 yuan, and the intermediary surnamed Zhang only returned 6500 yuan as a "cash out payment", making a profit of at least 2000 yuan in this process. Shu Zheng fell into the trap of tricks like this. At the beginning of this year, he had a 20000 yuan online loan overdue. In a hurry, he came across an advertisement for a "new type of loan" on social media - "Rent a machine to cash out, no need to credit". He followed the instructions of the loan intermediary and rented an iPhone on a certain platform with "zero deposit". After sending it to the intermediary, the other party transferred 6500 yuan to him. But ultimately he needs to repay 12000 yuan to the rental platform. The first installment of 1 yuan is a bait to lure you onto the trap Zhang Wei (pseudonym), who is also deeply involved in rental debt, said that she had previously been persuaded by an intermediary to rent a mobile phone and cashed out 5000 yuan. Currently, the total repayment amount is as high as 14500 yuan, with an actual annualized interest rate of 190%, far exceeding the legal private lending interest rate. What made her even more uncomfortable was that after "renting a machine to cash out", the creditor was the rental platform, making it difficult to negotiate fee reductions. After completing the transaction, the intermediary goes missing and ultimately the debt pressure falls on the borrower. Stopping the excessive annualized interest rate of "vest" cash loans and "renting machines for cash out" has been suspected of high interest loans. Judge Geng Yuan of the First Trial Division of the Beijing Financial Court stated that according to the "Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Private Lending Cases", if a lender requests the borrower to pay interest at the contractually agreed interest rate, the people's court should support it, except for the interest rate agreed upon by both parties that exceeds four times the one-year loan market quoted interest rate at the time of contract formation. It is worth noting that although multiple intermediaries claim that renting a machine requires various reviews, most platforms only need to submit verification such as Sesame Credit, without the need for a credit report. Some platforms claim to test credit scores, but cannot restrict the same user from repeatedly renting machines across platforms. Industry insiders analyze that rental platforms have formed interest alliances with intermediaries, using the compliant name of "credit leasing" to evade financial regulation, while consumers' awareness of rights protection is weak, giving these illegal "rental loans" an opportunity to take advantage of. As early as May 30, 2018, the Office of the Leading Group for the Special Rectification of Internet Financial Risks issued the Letter on Request for Strengthening the Supervision of Some "Cash Loans" Platforms to the Leading Group for the Special Rectification of P2P Network Lending Risks, pointing out that "some platforms evade supervision, conduct" cash loans "business in disguised form, and harm financial consumers by illegal lending through mobile phone leaseback, forced tying of member services and goods to raise interest rates in disguised form, maliciously delay borrowers, and resell loans after false shopping". The leading group for the special rectification work of Internet financial risks pointed out that among all kinds of "waistcoat" cash loan platforms, the most rampant ones are those that lend money in the form of mobile phone leaseback, with a number of more than 100, millions of registered customers, most of whom are targeted at college students, and the interest rate is extremely high. The average annual interest rate is more than 300%, and some even more than 1000%. The loan contract of a professional lender should be deemed invalid Geng Yuan stated that the minutes of the National Conference on Civil and Commercial Trial Work of Courts of the Supreme People's Court mentioned that legal persons engaged in private lending without obtaining lending qualifications in accordance with the law, as well as non legal person organizations or natural persons engaged in private lending activities, should be deemed invalid in accordance with the law. If the same lender repeatedly engages in paid private lending activities within a certain period of time, it can generally be recognized as a professional lender. (New Society)