Stop Loan Sharks
With the economy at an all-time low due to rises in inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, loan sharks have been exploiting vulnerable people who are struggling to make ends meet.
What is a loan shark?
A loan shark is defined as an ‘illegal moneylender who often charge very high interest rates.’
Loan Sharks generally target vulnerable individuals and families who are on low income. They manipulate and fool people into thinking they are a friend, meaning an individual caught up in this is unlikely to openly disclose details about their borrowing. According to Stop Loan Sharks, 55% of victims believed the loan shark was a friend when they first started borrowing.
There is a common misconception that a particular profile of a loan shark exists, however, a large percentage people who have been prosecuted for illegally lending money range from 17-74 years old.
Stop Loan Shark training
Stop Loan Sharks has estimated that as many as 1.08 million people in England could be in debt to an illegal money lender.
As debt collectors of local taxation and a variety of other debts, it’s important that our team, especially customer-facing staff know how to identify illegal borrowing, how to report the case and how to support to the vulnerable person. On 9 and 10 November, we welcomed England Illegal Money Lending to our head office. The training received was fantastic and there were some key points including warning signs to look out for which are useful for everyone to be aware of. These include noticing if someone is:
reluctant to talk about who they're borrowing money from / being scared to contact their other lenders;
borrowing for day-to-day expenses like gas & electric
not having credit cards or personal items because they are being ‘held’
having certain words on bank statements that suggests money has come from an illegal source
What to do if you suspect someone is borrowing from a loan shark
Identifying a loan shark or a scenario where a customer is lending from a loan shark can lead to prosecution. If you suspect someone is borrowing from a loan shark, let the person know you are concerned about them and point them in the direction for support.
If who you know isn’t ready to talk about their situation, try to obtain any information you can, starting with the lenders name and contact the Stop Loan Sharks helpline to inform them of your concerns. Advisors will investigate the lender, discuss your concerns and let you know what steps you can take to further provide help to the person affected.
The Stop Loan Sharks helpline is available 24 hours a day on 0300 555 2222. They provide free confidential advice.
