Behind Shenzhen’s Financial Literacy Education in Schools: Campus Loans, Telecom Fraud, and Illegal Fundraising—How Can Young People Guard Against Legal Risks?
On September 9, 2026, the Shenzhen Branch of PICC Life Insurance held a financial education and publicity event titled "Clean Financial Networks, Safeguard Peace of Mind in Consumption" at Shixia Middle School in Futian District. Using the "Youth Financial Literacy Festival" as a platform, the event popularized knowledge on consumer finance and money management, preventing telecom fraud, and identifying illegal financial activities among middle school students through knowledge contests and carnival games. Among them, the "Lightning Defense Battle" game set up levels around property insurance, medical insurance, and accident insurance, allowing students to understand the scope of insurance coverage through interaction.
From news reports, this appears to be merely a financial literacy event. But as practicing lawyers, we are more concerned with the deeper issues behind it: Why do financial scams and illegal financial activities target teenagers? When teenagers actually fall into the traps of campus loans, telecom fraud, or illegal fundraising, what kind of protection can the law provide? How should parents, schools, and society use legal tools to build a line of defense?
Campus loans are not "loans"; they may be illegal and criminal activities.
The quiz questions at the event included "how to identify campus loan traps." This shows that the campus loan issue remains one of the main threats to youth financial security today.
From a legal characterization perspective, "campus loans" is not a strict legal term. In practice, it usually refers to consumer loans or cash loans issued to students enrolled in schools. In 2017, the former China Banking Regulatory Commission, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security jointly issued the Notice on Further Strengthening the Standardized Management of Campus Loans, making it clear that institutions established without approval from the banking regulatory authorities may not enter campuses to provide credit services to university students. In 2021, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and four other departments further issued the Notice on Further Standardizing the Supervision and Management of Internet Consumer Loans to University Students, requiring that microfinance companies must not issue internet consumer loans to university students.
However, in reality, some illegal lending institutions have changed their appearance and infiltrated campuses under the names of "training loans," "beauty loans," "entrepreneurship loans," and so on. These loans are often accompanied by high interest rates, upfront interest deductions, violent debt collection, and even involve "routed loans" crimes. According to Article 266 of the Criminal Law, defrauding public or private property of a relatively large amount constitutes the crime of fraud; if the purpose is illegal possession and, under the guise of private lending, a person illegally possesses another person's property by inflating debts, creating defaults, or other means, it may constitute the crime of fraud, extortion, or robbery. The 2022 Opinions on Several Issues Concerning the Handling of Criminal Cases Involving "Routed Loans," jointly issued by the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Justice, provide clear guidance on conviction and sentencing for such acts.
For teenagers, once they fall into the trap of campus loans, they not only face financial losses but may also be subjected to violent debt collection, threats and intimidation, and even forced participation in illegal and criminal activities. At this point, promptly seeking the intervention of a professional lawyer to clarify the legality of the loan relationship, secure evidence, and report the matter to the public security authorities is key to protecting their rights and interests.
Telecom fraud targets minors: from "accomplices" to "victims"
The questions at the event also covered "what to do first when encountering telecom fraud." This is not unfounded worry. In recent years, within the criminal chain of telecom and online fraud, cases of minors being exploited as "tool men" have increased significantly.
The Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law came into effect on December 1, 2022. Article 31 of the law explicitly stipulates that no unit or individual may illegally buy, sell, rent, or lend phone cards, IoT cards, telecom lines, SMS ports, bank accounts, payment accounts, internet accounts, and the like. In practice, many middle school students are deceived by pitches such as "part-time order brushing" or "earn money by renting your accounts," and rent or sell their phone cards, bank cards, or social media accounts to fraud gangs, only to become accomplices in fraud crimes.
According to Article 287-2 of the Criminal Law, whoever, while clearly knowing that another person is committing a crime through an information network, provides technical support such as internet access, server hosting, network storage, or communication transmission, or provides assistance such as advertising promotion or payment settlement, if the circumstances are serious, commits the crime of assisting information network criminal activities and shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, and shall also or only be fined. Minors who have reached the age of 16 shall bear criminal responsibility; those who have reached the age of 14 but are under the age of 16 may also be pursued if they are involved in specific serious crimes such as fraud.
On the other hand, teenagers themselves are also victims of telecom fraud. Common scams targeting minors include: impersonating celebrity fan clubs to collect fees, offering free game skins, fake prize-winning notifications, and impersonating police or prosecutors to intimidate them. Because minors lack social experience and have weak risk-identification abilities, they are extremely vulnerable to being scammed. Once parents discover that their child has been defrauded, they should immediately preserve chat records and transfer receipts, report the case to the public security authorities, and may entrust a lawyer to assist in recovering the stolen money and minimizing losses.
The Legal Logic Behind Insurance Popularization: Risk Transfer and Compliance Boundaries
The "Lightning Defense Battle" game at the garden party incorporates property insurance, medical insurance, and accident insurance knowledge into its challenge levels. This actually touches on an important legal concept—risk transfer.
Article 2 of the Insurance Law stipulates that insurance is a commercial insurance act in which the policyholder pays premiums to the insurer according to the contract, and the insurer is liable for compensating the insured amount for property losses caused by the occurrence of accidents that may happen as agreed in the contract, or for paying the insured amount when the insured dies, becomes disabled, falls ill, or reaches the age, term, or other conditions agreed in the contract. For adolescents, student accident insurance, accident insurance, and medical insurance are common types of coverage. However, insurance is not omnipotent; the coverage scope, deductible, and reimbursement ratio of different types of insurance are all strictly stipulated in the contract.
Lawyer's reminder: When taking out insurance for their children, parents should carefully read the insurance terms, especially the exemption clauses and claim conditions. According to Article 17 of the Insurance Law, when concluding a contract, the insurer shall explain the contents of the contract to the policyholder, and for clauses that exempt the insurer from liability, it shall make prompts sufficient to draw the policyholder's attention and clearly explain them. If no prompt or clear explanation is made, such clauses shall not take effect. In practice, insurance disputes arising from failure to truthfully disclose health conditions, failure to meet claim conditions, and other reasons are not uncommon. If a claim dispute arises, it can be resolved through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or litigation, and a lawyer may be entrusted to intervene when necessary.
In addition, the theme of the campaign, "Preventing Illegal Finance," also targets illegal fundraising, illegally absorbing public deposits, and similar activities. The Regulations on the Prevention and Handling of Illegal Fundraising came into effect on May 1, 2021, making it clear that the state prohibits all forms of illegal fundraising, and that losses incurred by participants in illegal fundraising shall be borne by the participants themselves. Although young people are less likely to directly participate in illegal fundraising, they may be used to promote it or recruit others. Parents and schools should teach children to recognize phrases such as "high returns" and "guaranteed principal and interest," and to stay away from illegal financial activities.
Lawyer's Recommendation: Build a "Three Lines of Defense" for Juvenile Financial Legal Protection
Bringing financial literacy education into schools is commendable, but legal protection cannot rely on a single event alone. Based on practical experience, we recommend building three lines of defense:
The first line of defense is the family. Parents should pay attention to their children's spending behavior and online activities, properly keep bank cards and payment passwords, and regularly check account changes. At the same time, parents themselves should also understand the provisions on family protection in the Law on the Protection of Minors. Article 16 clearly states that parents should pay attention to the psychological condition of minors and prevent and stop their bad behavior. If they discover that their child is involved in campus loans or has been scammed, they should not simply scold them, but should first collect evidence, call the police, and consult a lawyer.
The second line of defense is at school. Schools should incorporate financial legal knowledge into daily education, not just publicity week activities. According to Article 39 of the Law on the Protection of Minors, schools should establish a student bullying prevention and control system, and carry out anti-bullying education and training for faculty, staff, and students. If financial fraud, illegal lending, and other acts occur on campus, schools have the responsibility to promptly discover and stop them. Schools can also cooperate with law firms to carry out regular legal lectures.
The third line of defense lies in society and the judiciary. Public security organs and financial regulatory authorities should continue to crack down on illegal financial activities targeting young people. When handling cases involving minors, judicial organs should implement the principle of "education, persuasion, and rehabilitation," while strictly punishing in accordance with the law those who exploit minors to commit crimes.
As a team of practicing lawyers deeply rooted in Shenzhen, Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm has long focused on the protection of juveniles' rights and interests and the field of financial compliance. We suggest that once juveniles encounter financial fraud, illegal lending, or insurance disputes, parents should seek help from professional lawyers as early as possible and safeguard their lawful rights and interests through legal channels. Improving financial literacy requires the popularization of knowledge, and even more so, the awakening of legal awareness. Only when families, schools, society, and the judiciary form a joint force can juveniles truly "make steady and long-term progress" in financial activities.
