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A daddy and son duo from Leicester scammed driver out of more than ₤ 60,000 by selling worthless vehicle insurance policies that left lots uninsured.

Ilyas Rauf charged unwary consumers up to ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left motorists dealing with prospective fines and vehicle seizures, while secretly sharing thousands of pounds with his boy Amer Ilyas.
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In the fraud, bogus insurance intermediaries will declare they can get you automobile or home insurance as a discount.

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

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

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

Between September 2019 and June 2020, he shared more than ₤ 11,000 of his revenues with his 28-year-old child, who was provided the task of hiring victims through social media.

The dad and kid were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for scams offences

The National Crime Agency formerly shared a series of mocked-up Instagram ads using '100% legitimate insurance to beat any price' to reveal chauffeurs what to watch out for

An examination found he utilized letters from a company called Eastern Catering to fraudulently acquire no claims discounts.

He wrongly declared his customers had actually worked for the company for multiple 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 sell the phony policies.

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

Amer Ilyas would then inform victims to go to the workplace or send photos of bank cards for processing of payment.

Rauf was connected to 52 deceptive motor insurance plan across four different insurance companies.

Ilyas Rauf's sibling Ziaed was captured on CCTV eliminating two computer systems from the office while cops raided his nephew's home.

Four phone calls had been made between the brothers before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully tried to obstruct a CCTV camera and got away.

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

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to obstruct a CCTV video camera and left

How to avoid falling victim to 'ghost brokers'

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

• Steer clear of purchasing insurance coverage promoted through social networks platforms and immediate messaging apps.

• Be cautious of insurance brokers who market their services in personal neighborhood online forums or through advertisements in public locations like pubs, cafes or newsagents.

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

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

• If you're stressed about a policy you have actually purchased or the details do not look right, get in touch with the insurance provider directly - do not use the information offered by the broker.

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

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

When questioned by police, his boy informed officers he might not remember being given cash by his dad and claimed he did not know what it was for.

The 3 men 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 moving criminal residential or commercial property and was jailed for 21 months.

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

Ziaed Rauf, 47, of Thurnview Road, Evington, Leicester, was given 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 current figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show the price of the average car insurance plan in January to March 2025 was ₤ 589, a 6 percent drop from the year before.

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

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

A total of 35,434 reports were made to the scams and cyber crime reporting service in 2024, compared with 22,530 in 2023.

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

The scams, understood as 'ghost broking' are typically marketed on social media, appealing cheap quotes for an automobile insurance coverage policy.

Car insurance policies have actually dropped over the last year, but are still remain traditionally high

The car insurance coverage prices estimate that ARE too great to be real: Warning over surge in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims believe they are being messaged by a good friend.

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

Fraudsters can also gain account information by means of phishing scams or data breaches.

People typically utilize the same password across accounts, so when one is dripped a number of accounts are left vulnerable.

Action Fraud has actually launched a project, supported by Meta, to encourage people to take additional online protection by allowing two-step verification.

Victims typically don't realise they have actually been scammed until they try to claim on their policy or if they occur to be stopped by cops and asked to reveal their insurance files.

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, informed MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers normally provide premium costs far more affordable than clients can find somewhere else.

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

Young motorist Wayne Simpson bought a low-cost car insurance policy on social networks before realising it was fake after he was unable to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500.

Young motorist Wayne Simpson bought a low-cost automobile insurance coverage policy on social media before realising it was phony after he was not able to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500

'We called up Aviva and they informed me there wasn't a policy taken out in my name which the number we had provided was not a number they would utilize,' he informed Sky News.

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

Mr Simpson said the insurance coverage documents looked so genuine that they managed to fool a policeman at the scene of the crash.

'She said," Your cars and truck's not popping up as guaranteed". Immediately I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance coverage documents, showed her the files and she reviewed it and said," That's completely fine",' he stated.