A dad and son duo from Leicester scammed chauffeur out of more than ₤ 60,000 by selling useless automobile insurance policies that left lots uninsured.

Ilyas Rauf charged unsuspecting consumers up to ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left motorists dealing with prospective fines and automobile seizures, while covertly sharing countless pounds with his kid Amer Ilyas.
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In the fraud, phony insurance coverage intermediaries will declare they can get you car or home insurance coverage as a discount rate.

They might either turn over a fake policy or an authentic one, which they subsequently cancel to keep the refund on their own.

Alternatively, they secure a real policy with incorrect information to bring the premium down - which would likely leave it void need to you attempt to make a claim.

Rauf, 51, made ₤ 61,763 from August 2016 to January 2020 by offering created work letters to protect affordable premiums for his victims.

Between September 2019 and June 2020, he shared more than ₤ 11,000 of his profits with his 28-year-old boy, who was provided the task of recruiting victims through social networks.

The father and child were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for scams offences

The National Crime Agency previously shared a series of mocked-up Instagram ads using '100% legit insurance coverage guaranteed to beat any cost' to show motorists what to keep an eye out for

An examination discovered he utilized letters from a business called Eastern Catering to fraudulently get no claims discounts.

He falsely claimed his clients had worked for the business for several years without crashes or insurance claims.

It was later on found that the address Eastern Catering was signed up to was the very same used by Rauf to offer the phony policies.

Police found that his kid had actually also messaged 31 contacts about insurance coverage on his phone in between October 2015 to March 2021, frequently telling clients that his father would provide quotes for them the next day.

Amer Ilyas would then inform victims to check out the workplace or send pictures of bank cards for processing of payment.

Rauf was connected to 52 fraudulent motor insurance plan throughout four different insurance companies.

Ilyas Rauf's bro Ziaed was captured on CCTV getting rid of 2 computer systems from the office while cops raided his nephew's home.

Four call had been made in between the brothers before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to obstruct a CCTV cam and ran away.

Ziaed was captured on CCTV eliminating two computer systems from the workplace while police raided his nephew's home.

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to block a CCTV video camera and got away

How to prevent coming down with 'ghost brokers'

Karl Parr, from AXA UK, stated customers can secure themselves by following the below guidance:

• Stay away from acquiring insurance coverage promoted through social networks platforms and instant messaging apps.

• Beware of insurance coverage brokers who market their services in personal community forums or through advertisements in public places like pubs, coffee shops or .

• Don't engage with insurance brokers who ask for payment in money or through bank transfers. Reputable brokers will provide payment choices through an online portal.

• Avoid insurance brokers who use personal e-mail addresses or mobile phone numbers to sell policies.

• If you're stressed over a policy you've purchased or the details don't look right, contact the insurance coverage supplier straight - do not use the details offered by the broker.

• To guarantee you're handling an authorised insurance broker, inspect the Financial Conduct Authority's website or the British Insurance Brokers' Association websit.

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Their scam was revealed when financial investigators found that he e declared to have earned ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 despite filching more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance coverage fraud alone.

When questioned by cops, his boy told officers he might not keep in mind being provided cash by his daddy and claimed he did not know what it was for.

The three males appeared at Leicester Crown Court on Friday, June 6.

Ilyas Rauf, 51, of Normanton Road, Highfields, Leicester, pleaded guilty to fraud by incorrect representation, breaching the Financial Services and Markets Act and transferring criminal residential or commercial property and was jailed for 21 months.

Amer Ilyas, 28, also of Normanton Road, pleaded guilty to money laundering offenses and was offered 16 weeks jail time, suspended for 12 months. He was likewise ordered to finish 100 hours of unpaid work.

Ziaed Rauf, 47, of Thurnview Road, Evington, Leicester, was offered 18 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and was purchased to finish 120 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice.

The most recent figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) reveal the rate of the average automobile insurance coverage in January to March 2025 was ₤ 589, a 6 per cent drop from the year before.

However, premiums remain more costly today than 2 years earlier, with the average policy ₤ 478 in January to March 2023 - 23 per cent less than the very first quarter of 2025.

It follows a significant increase in social media and email hacking reports last year, according to Action Fraud.

An overall of 35,434 reports were made to the scams and cyber criminal offense reporting service in 2024, compared with 22,530 in 2023.

Hacking techniques include fraudsters getting control of an account and impersonating the owner to convince others to reveal authentication codes.

The frauds, called 'ghost broking' are often advertised on social networks, appealing cheap quotes for a vehicle insurance coverage.

Car insurance plan have dropped over the in 2015, but are still stay historically high

The car insurance prices estimate that ARE too good to be true: Warning over surge in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims believe they are being messaged by a buddy.

The most typical motives for social media hacking were investment fraud, ticket scams or theft, Action Fraud said.

Fraudsters can also get account details through phishing scams or data breaches.

People frequently utilize the very same password across accounts, so when one is dripped numerous accounts are left vulnerable.

Action Fraud has actually released a campaign, supported by Meta, to encourage individuals to take additional online protection by making it possible for two-step verification.

Victims typically don't understand they have been scammed till they try to claim on their policy or if they take place to be come by cops and asked to show their insurance coverage files.

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, informed MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers normally provide premium rates far more affordable than consumers can discover in other places.

'Remember, if something sounds too excellent to be true, it practically definitely is.'

Young motorist Wayne Simpson bought an inexpensive car insurance coverage on social media before understanding it was fake after he was not able to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500.

Young driver Wayne Simpson bought a cheap automobile insurance coverage on social media before realising it was phony after he was unable to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500

'We phoned Aviva and they informed me there wasn't a policy secured in my name and that the number we had actually given them was not a number they would use,' he informed Sky News.

'That's when the dust settles, and you understand it's been a fraud.'

Mr Simpson stated the insurance coverage files looked so genuine that they handled to deceive a law enforcement officer at the scene of the crash.

'She said," Your car's not appearing as guaranteed". Straight away I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance coverage files, showed her the documents and she went through it and stated," That's absolutely fine",' he said.