It remains unknown who had leaked the photos. Police have been alerted

Most of the victims are university students between 19 and 23 years old

They had been provided by money borrowers to loaners as

The nude photos of hundreds of young Chinese women have been leaked online.

These women, most of whom are university students, had been forced by online loan sharks to send over pictures of them undressed while holding their IDs as guarantees.

An 8G zip file, thought to contain pictures of more than 1,000 women, were shared among Chinese internet users this week, reported Huanqiu.com, an affiliation to People's Daily.

Nude photos of hundreds of Chinese women have been leaked online and widely shared

The source of the nude photos is reported to be a Chinese money-loaning platform 'Jiedaibao'. Above is a screen shot of the website

According to reports, the source of the nude photos was a Chinese money-loaning platform named 'Jiedaibao'. However, it remains unknown as to who had leaked these photos to the public.

Once the zip file was decompressed, the web users would be able to see the women's names in the file names, as a screenshot on Huanqiu shows.

Remarks such as 'contact number available' and 'pretty' were also given to some of the file names.

More shockingly, the file names also suggested whether or not a particular woman would be willing to repay loans with sex.

Majority of the borrowers are young women born between 1993 to 1997, reported Huanqiu.com.

The exact number of victims is not known. However, a separate Huanqiu report suggested more than 1,000 woman desperate borrowers had sent naked photos of them to lenders on Jiedaibao.

It's reported that some lender had even requested the borrowers to film themselves masturbating.

Desperate measures: Some borrowers were also asked to hold a IOU in the pictures

An 8G file, named 'stupid girl', has been shared online which contained the nude pictures

In exchange, these women were granted higher loans, which ranged from two to five times the normal amount.

The weekly interest rate was 30 per cent.

The pictures were used by the women as guarantees that they would pay their debts.

It's been understood that loan sharks would release these photos and videos to the borrowers' families if they fail to repay the loans on time.

Jiedaibao position itself as a platform where individuals, often friends and acquaintances, can lend or borrow money.

The internet finance company issued a statement saying using nude photos as the guarantee had been a private agreement between the lender and the borrower.

In June, 2016, similar nude photos were posted for sale on various Chinese internet forums

It is not the first time nude photos of female money borrowers had been leaked online in China.

In June, 2016, similar nude photos were posted for sale on various Chinese internet forums, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Each set of photos were sold for 20 yuan (£2.3) to 30 yuan(£3.5). A set of 20 photos was priced 64 yuan at (£7.4).

Names, dates of birth, address and ID number of the young women could be clearly seen in the photos and videos.

Jiedaibao said in the statement that the company had reported the case to the police.

According to the Chinese Criminal Law, a person who 'produces, duplicates, publishes, sells or disseminates pornographic materials' shall be sentences to fixed-term imprisonment of no more than three years.

In a 'serious' case, the person could be sentenced to no more than 10 years in prison.