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A dad and boy duo from Leicester scammed driver out of more than ₤ 60,000 by selling useless vehicle insurance plan that left lots uninsured.

Ilyas Rauf charged unwary consumers approximately ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left chauffeurs facing potential fines and lorry seizures, while covertly sharing thousands of pounds with his boy Amer Ilyas.
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In the scam, fake insurance middlemen will declare they can get you vehicle or home insurance as a discount rate.

They may either hand over a phony policy or a genuine one, which they consequently cancel to keep the refund for themselves.

Alternatively, they secure a real policy with incorrect details 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 secure discounted premiums for his victims.

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

The daddy and son were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for fraud offences

The National Crime Agency formerly shared a series of mocked-up Instagram advertisements offering '100% legit insurance coverage guaranteed to beat any rate' to reveal motorists what to watch out for

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

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

It was later discovered 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 likewise messaged 31 contacts about insurance coverage on his phone in between October 2015 to March 2021, frequently telling customers that his dad would provide quotes for them the next day.

Amer Ilyas would then tell victims to go to the workplace or send images of bank cards for processing of payment.
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Rauf was connected to 52 deceitful motor insurance coverage throughout four various insurance companies.

Ilyas Rauf's brother Ziaed was captured on CCTV getting rid of two computers from the workplace while cops robbed his nephew's home.

Four phone calls had been made in between the bros before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to block a CCTV electronic camera and ran away.

Ziaed was caught on CCTV removing two computers from the office while cops raided his nephew's home.

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to obstruct a CCTV camera and left

How to avoid falling victim to 'ghost brokers'

Karl Parr, from AXA UK, said clients can protect themselves by following the below advice:

• Steer clear of buying insurance coverage promoted through social media platforms and instant messaging apps.

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

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

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

• If you're stressed over a policy you've purchased or the details do not look right, call the insurance coverage service provider straight - do not utilize the details provided 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 rip-off was revealed when monetary private investigators discovered that he e claimed to have earned ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 in spite of swiping more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance coverage scams alone.

When questioned by cops, his boy informed officers he might not keep in mind being provided money by his dad and declared he did not understand what it was for.

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

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

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

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

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

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

It follows a significant rise in social media and email hacking reports in 2015, according to Action Fraud.

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

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

The scams, called 'ghost broking' are typically marketed on social media, promising low-cost quotes for a vehicle insurance plan.

Car insurance coverage have dropped over the in 2015, however are still remain traditionally high

The automobile insurance coverage quotes that ARE too great to be real: Warning over surge in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims believe they are being messaged by a pal.

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

Fraudsters can likewise gain account details by means of phishing scams or information breaches.

People typically use the same password throughout accounts, so when one is leaked several accounts are left vulnerable.

Action Fraud has introduced a campaign, supported by Meta, to motivate individuals to take additional online security by allowing two-step verification.

Victims typically do not understand they have been scammed up until they try to claim on their policy or if they occur to be visited police and asked to show their insurance coverage documents.

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, informed MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers normally provide premium rates far less expensive than clients can discover elsewhere.

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

Young chauffeur Wayne Simpson purchased a low-cost vehicle insurance coverage policy on social networks before understanding it was phony after he was unable to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500.

Young motorist Wayne Simpson purchased an inexpensive automobile insurance coverage on social networks before understanding it was phony after he was unable to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500

'We called 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 rip-off.'

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

'She stated," Your vehicle's not popping up as guaranteed". Immediately I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance documents, revealed her the documents and she checked out through it and stated," That's totally fine",' he said.