You may find yourself in a situation where you need more money than you have. If you had another couple weeks to get your next paycheck you’d be fine, but that’s not how life works. Deadlines are deadlines. Something you might consider in this case are payday loans. This is when payday loan lenders provide unsecured, short term loans that you promise to pay back when you get your next paycheck. Before you get one of these, though, make sure you know what you’re in for.

To get one of these cash loans, you need to prove that you’re employed. This means providing payday loan lenders with a proof of income, which typically means a bank statement or pay stub. Simple enough, right? This part is easy for a reason, so stay on guard for what comes next.

It’s important to note that these short term loans aren’t meant to solve your long term financial needs. If that’s what you’re really trying to do, there are other avenues you can explore, such as installment loans. Anyway, once you’ve gotten your loan, you have the next 13 to 30 days, depending on when your next paycheck arrives, to pay the loan back. If not, then you’ll be considered a delinquent borrower. That’s not the most flattering title and it comes with extra fees and interest that you probably can’t pay because you needed the loan in the first place.

In the past, there have been cases of payday loan lenders threatening delinquent borrowers with criminal prosecution for check fraud. If you’re unfortunate enough to be in this situation, don’t panic yet. You’re not necessarily going to jail over this. In fact, such practice isn’t even legal in many areas. It’s even been denounced by the industry trade association, CFSA. If you find a lender is threatening you with this, check the legality of what they’re doing, but also, long term, never deal with them again.