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

Ilyas Rauf charged unsuspecting customers as much as ₤ 300 for void policies, which left drivers dealing with prospective fines and vehicle seizures, while secretly sharing countless pounds with his kid Amer Ilyas.

In the fraud, fake insurance coverage intermediaries will declare they can get you cars and truck or home insurance coverage as a discount.

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

Alternatively, they get a genuine policy with incorrect info to bring the premium down - which would likely leave it void should you attempt to make a claim.

Rauf, 51, made ₤ 61,763 from August 2016 to January 2020 by offering created work letters to secure 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 daddy and son were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for scams offenses

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

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

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

It was later on found that the address Eastern Catering was registered to was the very same utilized by Rauf to offer the fake policies.

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

Amer Ilyas would then tell victims to visit the office or send out photos of bank cards for processing of payment.

Rauf was linked to 52 fraudulent motor insurance policies across four different insurance companies.

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

Four telephone call had been made in between the brothers before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to obstruct a CCTV camera and fled.

Ziaed was captured on CCTV removing two computers from the workplace while police robbed his nephew's home.

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully tried to block a CCTV electronic camera and ran away

How to avoid falling victim to 'ghost brokers'

Karl Parr, from AXA UK, stated consumers can protect themselves by following the below advice:

• Avoid purchasing insurance coverage policies promoted through social networks platforms and instantaneous messaging apps.

• Be mindful of insurance coverage who market their services in personal neighborhood forums or through ads in public locations like clubs, cafes or newsagents.

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

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

• If you're fretted about a policy you have actually bought or the information don't look right, call the insurance coverage service provider straight - don't use the details supplied by the broker.

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

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

When questioned by police, his kid informed officers he might not remember being offered money by his dad and declared 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 imprisoned for 21 months.

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

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

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

However, premiums remain more pricey today than two years ago, with the typical policy ₤ 478 in January to March 2023 - 23 per cent less than the very first quarter of 2025.

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

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

Hacking approaches consist of fraudsters acquiring control of an account and impersonating the owner to encourage others to reveal authentication codes.
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The frauds, called 'ghost broking' are often promoted on social media, appealing low-cost quotes for an automobile insurance policy.

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

The cars and truck insurance coverage quotes that ARE too excellent to be true: Warning over rise in 'ghost brokers'

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

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

Fraudsters can also get account information through phishing scams or information breaches.

People often use the same password throughout accounts, so when one is leaked numerous accounts are left susceptible.

Action Fraud has released a project, supported by Meta, to motivate individuals to take additional online security by enabling two-step confirmation.

Victims typically don't understand they have been scammed 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 typically use premium costs far less expensive than customers can find elsewhere.

'Remember, if something sounds too great to be true, it probably is.'

Young driver Wayne Simpson bought a low-cost car insurance plan 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.

Young driver Wayne Simpson bought a cheap cars and truck insurance coverage policy on social networks before understanding it was fake after he was not able to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500

'We called Aviva and they told me there wasn't a policy gotten in my name which the number we had offered them was not a number they would utilize,' he informed Sky News.

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

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

'She said," Your car's not turning up as guaranteed". Quickly I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance coverage files, showed her the files and she checked out through it and said," That's absolutely great",' he stated.
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