What is a Loan Shark?� Nothing to do with a high APR or interest rate

� Nothing to do with bullying or harassment

� It is to do with having a licence – or NOT…

� The definition of a LOAN SHARK is an individual running an unauthorised business under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

‘Legal’ Loan Sharks

• It is a contradiction in terms

• These are NOT Loan Sharks:

Wonga, Provident, Bright House

They are licensed, legal and regulated companies who all have

a Consumer Credit Licence. They have no cap on the interest rate that they can charge but they have to comply with regulations about telling people how much they charge and the way that they advertise.

The Illegal Money Lending

Team

� Trading Standards initiative, began in 2004

� Hosted by Birmingham City Council

� Before, over 20 years since loan shark prosecution!

� A dedicated, specialist team of 55

� Investigators prosecute Loan Sharks

� LIAISE Officers raise awareness and provide victim support

The LIAISE Officer role is� Giving victim support

� Providing in-depth training, attending team meeting talks/presentations

� Providing materials for community events

� Talking to vulnerable groups, service-users

� Inputting Illegal Money Lending into on your Financial Inclusion or Community Safety Strategy

� Distributing flyers and posters to raise awareness

� Writing newsletter or website copy

� Responding to new and changing trends

� Supporting ‘Proceeds of Crime Act’ spend

� Working with you to target areas ‘at risk’

� Develop new ways of getting our message to your clients

The Enforcement side� Prosecute Loan Sharks

� Manage the hotline 24/7 0300 555 2222

� All Investigators are from Police, fraud, Trading Standards and customs backgrounds

� Two seconded Police Officers

� Two financial investigators who use the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA)

� An Intelligence Cell of four people

The intelligence cell� Check if individual has licence

� Intelligence rated, operation given status of Bronze, Silver or Gold

� Operations with threat to life, violence and amount of corroborated intelligence prioritised

� Thorough intelligence checks carried out and assigned to Investigator’s case-load

0300 555 2222� The hotline is open 24 hours a day

� Every single day

� Managed by Investigators, on a rota

� Can be anonymous

� Calls not recorded

� Is confidential

� Calls from a variety of individuals and agencies

� Email and text service too

Loan Shark trends� No licence� No paperwork - “you owe me this much”� No receipts for payment� Violence, intimidation and blackmail if

repayments are missed� Loans to anyone (under 18’s included)� Take cash cards and other securities� Rarely advertise, find clients by word of mouth� Repayments of at least twice the original amount,

often with high charges for defaulting

….Typical characteristics � Can take illegal securities e.g. cash cards, passports

� Hardly ever advertise – incentives for introducing a friend

� Communicate mainly in person or via text

� Repayments of at least twice the amount borrowed

� May encourage the use of legal credit options to pay towards the debt e.g. credit union or crisis loan

Loan Shark behaviours

� Building a client list through social networking – the pub, schools gates, taxi rank...

� Can be claiming benefits whilst making a lot of money

� Frequently not paying any tax on their income

� Often involved in other criminality, and interest fuels capital for this

� Loan Sharks are getting smarter – no longer just a scrap of paper or exercise book but well-hidden memory sticks...

Loan Shark profile� Of our prosecutions, 80% male, 20% female� The friend of a friend “pay me back whenever”� The work colleague� The advert in the paper� The rented debt� The “community lender”� The “lazy” lender

And our victim profile…� Men and women equally likely to be victims;

� The male taxi driver

� The single mum

� The hospital worker

� The self-employed male

� The desperate

� The businessman

� The vulnerable

The IMLT schools package� Materials for use in primary & secondary schools

� Designed to raise awareness in pupils of safer borrowing & money management

� Age 5 – 11 and 11 -19

� (Key Stage 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5)

� Pfeg quality marked

� Written by teachers

� So far 4000 schools in England delivering

Why?

• Pupils will take the

messages home to help

their parents who may be

in financial difficulties

• Prevent parents using

illegal money lenders

• Enabling better decision

making in the future

• Activity based

The IMLT needs you!� Thank you for being here today

� Simply TALK about loan sharks

� Pro-actively ask people

� Help raise awareness, lots of free resource

� Colleagues/community champion talks

� Add information to what you’re already doing;

� Newsletters,

IMLT achievements to date� 310 prosecutions for illegal money lending

and related activity

� Over 24,500 victims have been helped

� Over £59 million illegal “debt” wiped out

� Over £27 million worth of assets being investigated

0300 555 2222� The hotline is open 24 hours a day

� Every single day

� Managed by Investigators, on a rota

� Can be anonymous

� Calls not recorded

� Is confidential

� Calls from a variety of individuals and agencies

� Email and text service too