JOHANNESBURG - A Third Degree investigation has revealed widespread fraud and abuse in the micro-lending industry.

Court orders that instruct employers to deduct small loans from employees&39; salaries have risen.

A staggering number of these court orders are fraudulent or defective.

It is an all too familiar scenario. Battling to make ends meet, South Africans keep taking out loans.

The easiest way is micro-lending -- unsecured loans paid back at exorbitant interest rates of around 30 percent over a period of six months.

The minute the consumer defaults, loan sharks slap on a court order, instructing an employer to deduct the money owed before the salary is paid.

But magistrates are increasingly reluctant to issue court orders and this has led to widespread abuse of the system.

The investigation shows that, of a random sample of 1,450 court orders, only three are legal. The rest are either defective or fraudulent.

The National Credit Regulator (NCR) has confirmed the problem is rampant.

“We have received numerous complaints around court orders and the main complaints were investigated," said Obed Tongoane of the NCR.

"The conclusion we arrived at was that the majority of those particular court orders were fraudulently obtained.

"Investigations are at an advanced stage. The culprits will be named and shamed when it is complete."

Watch Third Degree tonight at 21:30 for the full report.