There are many risks with borrowing money from a loan shark. They include:
A high and often unmanageable interest rate. Loan sharks charge much higher interest than a high street lender would charge you
Being harassed or threatened if you fall behind on payments
Coming under pressure to borrow even more money to repay your original loan. Doing this gives the loan shark more ‘power’ over you, and makes you more vulnerable to intimidation and violence
When you first meet them, loan sharks will usually seem friendly and understanding to your problems. They do this to gain your trust and make you more likely to borrow money from them. They may even behave nicely after a period of intimidating behaviour, to keep you off balance and ‘train’ you to stay on top of your repayments.