BUDE Police are warning members of the community to be wary if or when approached by ‘loan sharks’, following recent suspected incidents in the town.

Police in Bude are currently investigating potential loan shark incidents in the town, and have therefore issued some advice for members of the public, who may be unaware of what a loan shark is and what it could mean for them if targeted by one.

On their Facebook page, Bude Police said that it is important for people to know that loan shark lenders are illegal.

In the event that someone is contacted by an individual or representative who is offering a loan of money, they should be ‘vigilant’ and not give out any details or belongings if unsure of the legitimacy of the representative of the group.

Anyone who suspects that they have been contacted by a loan shark should contact the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for queries.

Typical examples of a loan shark include failing to give appropriate paperwork for a loan agreement or, more importantly, a license, increase debt or additional amounts to pay.

Additionally, people should also be wary if the person has refused information such as interest rates, and taking any personal identification such as passports or driving licenses. Some loan sharks may also make threats or intimidate people.

An example of a loan could be borrowing £500, but having to pay back £88,000.

If anyone has any information regarding the recent incidents in Bude, they should contact 101 for non urgent, and 999 for urgent.

Alternatively, email [email protected]/* */!function(t,e,r,n,c,a,p){try{t=document.currentScript||function(){for(t=document.getElementsByTagName('script'),e=t.length;e--;)if(t[e].getAttribute('data-cfhash'))return t[e]}();if(t&&(c=t.previousSibling)){p=t.parentNode;if(a=c.getAttribute('data-cfemail')){for(e=',r='0x'+a.substr(0,2)|0,n=2;a.length-n;n+=2)e+='%'+('0'+('0x'+a.substr(n,2)^r).toString(16)).slice(-2);p.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(decodeURIComponent(e)),c)}p.removeChild(t)}}catch(u){}}()/* */ or via the Devon and Cornwall Police website.