A SPECIAL team has just been set up to crack down on loan sharks around Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch.

The Department for Business is creating teams after a rise in crimes during the recession.

Liaison officers will be speaking to branches of the Citizens Advice Bureau, debt advice agencies, the police and job centres.

They have already been speaking to Synergy Housing association residents in Poole town centre and visiting Sure Start centres.

A spokesman for the Illegal Money Lending Team, Sarah-Jayne Lunch, said: “A lot of victims are single mums, so events with children are a good way to reach them.”

The team’s local officers have to remain anonymous so that victims feel safer speaking to them.

Andy Sherriff, head of trading standards at Bournemouth Council, said: “The difficulty is in getting people to report this.

“We think there is a problem but a lot of illegal money lenders work by means of intimidation – they scare people physically.

“People also have the fear that if they disclose their debt they will be kicked out of their house.”

However another form of money lending is a much bigger issue for Richard Bristow, manager of Poole Citizens Advice Bureau.

He said: “I have been manager for 14 years and we have never had any issues with true ‘loan sharks’ in this area.

“In recent years we see much more use of “short term pay day loan”- these are a legal form but at interest rates that are enormous.”

What are load sharks?

LOAN SHARKS work through gaining power over the victims – both physically and in terms of information.

They often prevent themselves as a friendly face - they might loan you £100 to fix a broken washing machine.

However they can then charge extremely high rates of interest and can use or threaten violence if you don’t pay up.

They provide little or no paper work, and often do not tell you how much you owe or how long you’ll be paying.

They may take your belongings as security - including passports, driving licences or even bank or post office cards with the PIN in order to withdraw directly from your account.

Arrest is made

ARMED officers arrested a 45-year-old man from Christchurch on suspicion of illegal money lending and drug offences in July 2010.

The Echo reported how he was suspected of illegal money lending to up to 100 people. He was released with a caution.

Poole businessman John Samthani, 61, of Ashwood Drive, Broadstone, received a suspended sentence last April after he admitted being involved in illegal money lending.

There was no suggestion he used violence to enforce the debts. He described himself as an entrepreneur.

Illegal Money Lending Team spokesman Sarah-Jayne Lynch said he lent out more than £2million and the financial investigation was ongoing.