A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law. Loan sharking is usually illegal, although predatory lending with extremely high interest rates such as payday or title loans is sometimes considered to be loan sharking. Loan sharks sometimes enforce repayment by blackmail or threats of violence. Historically, many moneylenders skirted between legal and criminal activity. In the recent western world, loan sharks have been a feature of the criminal underworld.