‘I was suicidal’: Loan sharks pose as friends to trap victims in cost of living crisis
Families facing up to the spiralling cost of living are being targeted by predatory loan sharks who pose as friends and even using social media influencers to trap new victims.
It is estimated more than a million people are in debt to illegal money lenders, a number that has trebled in the past decade.
Investigators are concerned that the rising cost of living will push people who would not normally seek an underground loan to do just that.
Tony Quigley, head of England Illegal Money Lending Team, said: “One of the things we’re fearful of obviously is with the current situation around energy prices and inflation is that more people will be tempted to use this type of lender.”
Illegal lenders are increasingly operating on social media to entice and then exploit victims, sending threatening messages and shaming and manipulating them on group chats.
One convicted loan shark used an influencer to attract victims.
Loan sharks are also snaring victims by posing as friends who simply want to help out with cash loans before ramping up extortionate and arbitrary interest rates.
£50 loan that spiralled to thousands
One woman, a mother of three, was offered a £50 loan by a woman she met at the school gate.
The debt quickly spiralled and she ended up paying thousands in cash with no records kept.
“I was stressed over the repayments,” she said. “I knew I had to pay her back because I have seen what she had done to other people if they didn’t pay her back. She made it her business to know exactly what money went into my bank.
“I got to the point of wanting to end everything. I was very suicidal and didn’t know who to go to. There were threats on my life and on my home. I had windows put in and I would get messages off people bullying me because she had sent them to my door, she even used local youths in the area as a campaign of terror.”
A suspected loan shark is arrested
‘Likely an illegal lender is someone you know’
The woman’s experience matches what was found in a study by the Centre for Social Justice, a think tank.
Matthew Greenwood, its head of debt, said: “I think the most startling thing that we uncovered was that over half of people who borrow from an illegal lender said that they perceived this person to be their friend when they first borrowed.
“There’s a sort of perception that every illegal lender is someone in a hoodie in a dark alley and while those people certainly do exist, it’s far more likely that an illegal lender is someone you know, rather than someone you’ve met for the first time.”
The study found that most victims have an income below £20,000, two-thirds already owe money to legal creditors, three-quarters are on benefits and two-thirds have a long-term health condition.
Tony Quigley said his team has seen ‘some horrendous things’
‘Pay me, don’t feed your children’
Experts say the crime is so widespread and hidden that victims are too scared or ashamed to report their experiences. The large sums of money and extortionate rates of interest take a psychological toll, leaving victims feeling trapped and helpless.
“We’ve seen some horrendous things that people have been subjected to,” Mr Quigley said. “We’ve had instances in the past where the loan shark has said to individuals: ‘Pay me, don’t feed your children.’
“We’ve also seen illegal lenders who have said they’ll send men round and they can pay the debt off through sexual favours so it is just hideous.”
The England Illegal Money Lending team, which was set up in 2004 and runs the Stop Loan Sharks helpline, is a specialist team of law enforcement officers combatting illegal lending and associated crime.
It has prosecuted more than 400 cases and written off £90m in illegal debt.
The BBC has said it regrets not pulling the live stream of Bob Vylan’s “unacceptable” Glastonbury set – as Ofcom said the broadcaster has “questions to answer”.
The corporation has faced mounting criticism over airing the performance on Glastonbury‘s West Holts Stage, during which the rap-punk duo’s frontman Bobby Vylan led chants of: “Free, free Palestine” and: “Death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)”.
Sir Keir Starmer condemned the remarks as “appalling hate speech”, while festival organiser Emily Eavis said they “crossed a line” – and media watchdog Ofcom has now also released a statement raising concerns.
This morning, a spokesperson for the prime minister did not directly answer when asked if he still had confidence in BBC director-general Tim Davie.
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What is the Glastonbury controversy?
Footage from Bob Vylan’s set on Saturday showed some of the crowd joining in, as the group performed in front of a screen that said Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to “genocide”.
Afterwards, the BBC said there had been a warning on screen about potential “strong and discriminatory language”, but described the comments as “deeply offensive”.
On Monday, a spokesperson released an updated statement, saying the comments were antisemitic and the performance should have been taken off air.
“The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence,” the statement said. “The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves. We welcome Glastonbury’s condemnation of the performance.”
Pic: PA
A judgement to issue a warning on screen while streaming online was in line with editorial guidelines, the spokesperson added, and the performance has not been made available to view on demand.
“The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen.
“In light of this weekend, we will look at our guidance around live events so we can be sure teams are clear on when it is acceptable to keep output on air.”
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An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We are very concerned about the live stream of this performance, and the BBC clearly has questions to answer.
“We have been speaking to the BBC over the weekend and we are obtaining further information as a matter of urgency, including what procedures were in place to ensure compliance with its own editorial guidelines.”
In a statement shared on Instagram on Sunday, Bobby Vylan said: “Teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place.
“As we grow older and our fire starts to possibly dim under the suffocation of adult life and all its responsibilities, it is incredibly important that we encourage and inspire future generations to pick up the torch that was passed to us.”
The latest developments follows severe condemnation from the prime minister, who said there was “no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech”.
Mo Chara of Kneecap at Glastonbury. Pic: Reuters
Sir Keir also referenced a previous statement that Belfast rap group Kneecap, who were on stage after Bob Vylan, should have been removed from the line-up after one member was charged with a terrorism offence.
“I said that Kneecap should not be given a platform and that goes for any other performers making threats or inciting violence,” he said.
Ms Eavis, whose father Michael co-founded the festival, said in a statement that Bob Vylan had “very much crossed a line”.
She added: “Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.”
The Israeli embassy posted on X in the hours after the set, saying it was “deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric”.
It said the slogan used “advocates for the dismantling of the State of Israel”.
In a separate post on X on Sunday, Israel’s foreign ministry published graphic footage following the attack by Hamas on the Nova festival in Israel on 7 October 2023, and the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said it would be formally complaining to the BBC over its “outrageous decision” to broadcast the performance.
Speaking to Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on behalf of the government, Health Secretary Wes Streeting described the chant as “appalling”, especially at a music festival – “when there were Israelis at a similar music festival who were kidnapped, murdered, raped, and in some cases still held captive”.
He added that while “there’s no justification for inciting violence against Israelis… the way in which Israel’s conducting this war has made it extremely difficult for Israel’s allies around the world to stand by and justify”.
Lucy McMullin, who was in the crowd for Bob Vylan, told Sky News: “When there’s children and civilians being murdered and starved, then I think it’s important that people are speaking out on these issues.
“However, inciting more death and violence is not the way to do it.”
Police have said they are reviewing footage of both the Bob Vylan and Kneecap sets to assess whether any criminal offences were committed.
Speaking to Sky News earlier today, women and equalities minister Baroness Jacqui Smith said the comments “clearly” over-stepped the mark.
“I’m surprised that the BBC carried on broadcasting them live when it was obvious what was happening.”
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