Stock Recommendations Based on Fabrication? Hidden High-Fee Traps in Loans? "3·15" Exposes These Financial Irregularities!

How AI Fake Stock Recommendations Exploit Investors’ Psychological Weaknesses

You believed the so-called private equity insider tips, guaranteed profits, and profit-sharing arrangements, not realizing they are scams set up by illegal actors.

When you took out a loan, you looked at the seemingly low interest rate, but you might have fallen into a trap of hidden fees and unclear charges, ending up paying more unknowingly…

The annual CCTV “3.15” Consumer Rights Day Gala has arrived as scheduled. As an important window for protecting consumer rights, this year’s program focused on financial security and other fields, directly addressing industry chaos, exposing consumer traps, and revealing several typical violations related to finance. These cases highlight new and old risks in financial consumption and serve as a warning to consumers.

Stock Recommendation Profit-Sharing Scam

Case One

According to CCTV reports, amid active stock trading, scammers impersonate legitimate private equity firms, using tricks like “insider information,” “guaranteed profits,” and “50-50 profit split, loss coverage” to lure investors into buying specific stocks. Initially, investors may see small gains, but once the stock drops, the scammers disappear. The recommended stocks are not actually “research stocks” from institutions but are randomly selected targets by the scam operators. The risk of this scam is that investors are easily blinded by promises of high returns, blindly follow and buy in, likely facing principal loss. The scammers profit from the probability that stocks will rise, while investors have no rights protection. Such behavior also violates securities laws and constitutes illegal securities activities.

Personal Loans

Issue of Opaque Fees and Charges

Case Two

Previously, the personal loan market was plagued by irregular and non-transparent fee disclosures, making it difficult for borrowers to understand the full costs of loans. Hidden fees could mislead borrowers into making irrational decisions or falling into over-indebtedness. Recently, regulatory authorities introduced comprehensive cost disclosure regulations requiring lenders to provide clear, detailed tables of all interest and fee items, collection methods, and standards. The core issue is that opaque fees infringe on borrowers’ right to information, potentially leading to financial disputes or high charges by non-compliant lenders.

Regulatory Crackdown

Financial regulators have long been aware of these issues, clarifying legal boundaries for scams and setting clear rules for loan consumer protection.

Experts warn that stock recommendation profit-sharing schemes are inherently tempting because they appear mutually beneficial. However, behind this illusion lies an unfair game where consumers’ interests are harmed, while illegal institutions benefit disproportionately. Such schemes violate the Securities Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law. If the misconduct is serious, involves large sums, and affects many people, it could constitute crimes like illegal business operations or fraud.

Regarding personal loans, to maintain market order, protect consumers’ rights, improve service quality, and promote industry regulation, the State Administration of Financial Supervision and the People’s Bank of China recently issued the “Regulations on Clear Disclosure of Comprehensive Financing Costs for Personal Loan Business” (hereinafter “Regulations”), effective from August 1, 2026. The 11-article regulation refines the scope, procedures, and stages of fee disclosure within existing frameworks, requiring lenders to present clear, comprehensive cost tables to borrowers, ensuring transparency and better safeguarding consumer rights, facilitating policy implementation, and promoting healthy industry development.

Risk Reminder

These cases reflect the intertwined risks in current financial consumption. In fact, beyond finance, we see new scams emerging from AI, such as “data poisoning,” as well as longstanding issues like false advertising and information opacity in stock and loan markets. Consumers often fall into traps due to information gaps or lack of understanding of new technologies or specialized fields.

For consumers, it is crucial to enhance risk awareness: avoid blindly trusting single sources, resist the lure of “guaranteed profits,” and actively request and verify complete fee details when applying for loans. They should also learn to distinguish legitimate institutions from illegal entities by verifying credentials through official channels and refusing to participate in unlicensed financial transactions.

Regulators need to keep pace with industry developments, implementing targeted measures against new scams like AI-generated ads and data poisoning, conducting focused rectifications, and strengthening oversight of traditional sectors like stocks and loans. Improving disclosure systems to make all financial information transparent is essential. Additionally, cracking down on illegal financial activities and increasing financial literacy will help reduce consumer vulnerability from the source.

Platforms must also take responsibility: AI platforms should optimize algorithms to better identify and filter false information, strictly review partner institutions’ qualifications, and supervise information disclosure to create a safe, fair financial environment.

Source: Financial Times Client

Reporter: Ma Meiruo

Editor: Yang Zhiyuan