Who Is Using the iPhone to Set Up a Scheme?
Who Is Using the iPhone to Set Up a Scheme?
https://eu.36kr.com/en/p/3743634173800961
Publish Date: 2026-03-29 21:20:00
Source Domain: eu.36kr.com
Is it really possible to end up with a sky – high bill of 16,000 yuan when buying an iPhone 16 Pro Max on an installment – plan?
Recently, China News Service exposed a loan trap scheme using mobile phone installment – plans. The report said that a man originally just wanted to get a few thousand yuan in cash flow. Guided by an intermediary, he placed an order for an iPhone 16 Pro Max (512GB) priced at 16,318 yuan on a mini – program of an e – commerce platform. The intermediary promised to return 7,000 yuan as a loan after receiving the goods.
According to this calculation, the actual transaction price of this iPhone 16 Pro Max should be around 7,000 yuan. However, just 10 days later, the man received the first – installment bill, which was 5,000 yuan. According to the platform’s repayment cycle of 12 installments over 120 days, the total actual repayment amount reached 16,318 yuan, with an equivalent annual interest rate of about 400%.
(Source: China News Service)
The key point is that the products ordered on these platforms will not end up in the hands of the consumers themselves. That is to say, the man only got about 7,000 yuan in actual “loans” but took on a debt of 16,000 yuan, and the interest rate has touched the legal bottom line. But why mobile phones? Why does a need for borrowing money always end up involving buying a mobile phone? What kind of trap is there?
How did the “mobile – phone purchase” scam come about from placing an order to taking on debt?
This “mobile – phone installment – plan” trap was not actually a dispute caused by buying a mobile phone from the beginning.
The man mentioned in the report didn’t actually want to buy a mobile phone at the beginning. His real need was to get a few thousand yuan in urgent cash flow. The intermediary didn’t recommend a suitable product to him but taught him how to disguise the act of borrowing money as a shopping experience on a “buy now, pay later” platform.
The whole process of…
