Now to my question. If you "vouch" for someone that they are trustworthy and they take a loan, is the person who vouched putting their reputation on the line? If you didn't trust a person to repay, why would you "vouch" for them?
IMO vouching for someone is like being a surety for that person. Like the word “surety” implies you have to be sure of that person you’re vouching for. You don’t just vouch for anyone, you cannot really know a person until you have had financial dealings with them. In most cases where a guarantor or reference is needed, it means the person doesn’t have credibility to access thr loan, so the reputation of the guarantor will be the currency with which the person is purchasing the loan.
I don’t think the debt automatically become yours should the person default. However you are required to provide the whereabouts of the person who took the loan. If you can’t do that, then people may start to think you also had a part to play in the scheme.