Police in Dundee are urging people not to turn to illegal moneylenders in a bid to solve their financial woes.
Tayside Police hope their warning will help to prevent loan sharks from gaining a foothold in the city.
It follows claims that some people have turned to shoplifting as a means of raising funds to pay off debts they are told they owe.
Although unable to state whether this is the case or not, Detective Chief Inspector Greig Steele said that turning to loan sharks is a dangerous option to take.
”Loan sharks prey on the vulnerable and desperate in our communities people who turn to them in times of crisis and invariably find that their problems only get worse,” he said.
”Unlicensed moneylenders almost always charge massive interest rates that people can find impossible to meet and then use threats and violence to intimidate borrowers.”
Police say illegal money lending is often linked with other forms of crime and brings in its wake violence and bigger money problems for some of the most vulnerable people in society.
Loan sharks are known to offer cash without formalising any arrangements for repayment, including rates of interest and a payment schedule.
Interest rates are often charged at astronomical levels and lenders can increase the level of debt without prior notice.
It is also not uncommon for some to take valuable documents, such as passport or driver’s licence, as a form of insurance.
Mr Steele added: ”It isn’t a crime to borrow money. It is a crime to lend money illegally and anyone who is being threatened by a loan shark or who has any information or concerns should call the confidential hotline or the police.”
Tayside Police have worked with the Scottish Illegal Money Lending Team to crack down on any suspected loan sharks and have hit out at anybody attempting to scam those who are short of money.
Nationally the Stop Loan Sharks Project has secured more than 200 prosecutions for illegal money lending and related activity leading to 130 years’ worth of custodial sentences. They have written off almost £40 million worth of illegal debt and helped in excess of 18,000 victims.
A Dundee City Council spokesman said: ”The council works in partnership with other agencies as part of a concerted campaign against illegal money lending and the problems it causes for individuals and communities.”