Banks and legitimate finance institutes will normally check the loan applicants credit history and evaluate their past repayment performance before they approve their loan application. This makes loan applicants with bad credit scores hard to obtain a loan from these legitimate finance organizations. Many bad debtors who urgently need money will turn their head to borrow the money from illegal money lender. These illegal money lenders normally lend out their money with extremely high interest rates and often backed by blackmail or threats of violence. Hence, you are risking yourself if you borrow the money from a loan shark.

What Is A Loan Shark?

By definition, a loan shark is a person or body that offers illegal unsecured loans at high interest rate to individuals, often backed by blackmail or threats of violence. A loan shark is an unlicensed money lender who provides credit to those who are unable to obtain credit from a legitimate financial organization.

What Are The Catches?

Loan sharks which are normally unlicensed money lenders will offer loan to those who need cash. However, there is always a major catch - how much has to be paid back. The terms on offer will usually be very poor. There are many cases of people borrowing a small sum of money and paying double or triple that original sum in interest.

Many loan sharks count their loans interest rates based on the principle amount and the interest rate may goes as high as 12% per month (144% APR). For example, if you borrow $5000 from a loan shark, you need to pay $600 every month just for the interest. You will never payoff your loan amount if you just pay $600 a month because the interest rate is counted based on principal amount, the $600 you pay is the interest.

The power of interest is work well in your savings, it will generate more cash in your saving account. But if the poser of interest is used on a loan, especially on the loan from a loan shark, it will be very scary as it will generate more and more debts and it make you harder and harder to repay your debts. Take for the above example, if your borrow $5000 from a loan shark and you can only pay $500 each month. Your debts will climb up about $18,000 in 2 years and you have paid $12,000 of interest. Your debts will continue to increase in very scary trend if you continue to pay only $500 to the loan shark; your debts will hit $50,000 in another year (the third year) for your $5000 loan and with $18,000 interest paid.

Many loan sharks customers run away and hiding themselves from loan sharks after finding themselves unable to bear the repayment. And loan sharks will take actions to chase back their money, often they will send out blackmail letter, put scary items at their borrowers home, make scary phone calls and have their staffs waiting for client at clients home. In this process, violence action may involve and in the worst case may get the borrower or the borrowers family hurts.

In Summary

It is illegal to borrow money from a loan shark and if you get a loan from them, you are putting yourself at risk of violence and making your debt grows like a mushroom in short period of time. You should consider the possibilities for getting the cash, there are loan programs for people with bad credit scores, check it out with a finance consultant close by to get more information on your options.