Loan sharks cruising South Yorkshire for easy targets during the current credit crunch are being warned that there is a crackdown against their operations.
Stop Loan Sharks is a government-funded project that works with local authority trading standards services across the country. A team of highly trained investigators from the project will work with the four South Yorkshire local authorities - Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield - to track down loan sharks who prey on some of the most vulnerable people in the community.
Loan sharks are associated with illegal weapons, smuggled cigarettes, counterfeit DVDs and other goods. We urge anyone who has a problem, or wishes to anonymously report a loan shark to contact the team:
On the phone: 0300 555 2222 (local rate call, including inclusive mobile minutes)
By text/SMS: Text loan shark and your message to 60003 (texts charged at your network's standard rate)
By email: Send your message to reportaloanshark@stoploansharks.gov.uk
The removal of loan sharks permits victims to manage their finances more effectively and often results in a drop in reported crime.
