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A father and boy duo from Leicester scammed motorist out of more than ₤ 60,000 by selling useless automobile insurance coverage policies that left dozens uninsured.

Ilyas Rauf charged unwary customers approximately ₤ 300 for void policies, which left chauffeurs facing potential fines and automobile seizures, while secretly sharing thousands of pounds with his boy Amer Ilyas.
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In the rip-off, bogus insurance coverage middlemen will declare they can get you vehicle or home insurance coverage as a discount.

They may either turn over a phony policy or an authentic one, which they subsequently cancel to keep the refund for themselves.

Alternatively, they take out a genuine policy with inaccurate info 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 providing forged work letters to protect affordable premiums for his victims.

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

The father and kid were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for scams offenses

The National Crime Agency previously shared a series of mocked-up Instagram ads providing '100% legit insurance ensured to beat any price' to show motorists what to look out for

An investigation found he used letters from a business called Eastern Catering to fraudulently acquire no claims discount rates.

He wrongly claimed his customers had actually worked for the business for multiple years without crashes or insurance coverage claims.

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

Police discovered that his son had also messaged 31 contacts about insurance on his phone in between October 2015 to March 2021, often telling clients that his daddy would supply quotes for them the next day.

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

Rauf was connected to 52 deceptive motor insurance coverage policies throughout four various insurance companies.

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

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

Ziaed was caught on CCTV removing 2 computers from the office while authorities robbed his nephew's home.

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully tried to obstruct a CCTV video camera and fled

How to prevent coming down with 'ghost brokers'

Karl Parr, from AXA UK, said customers can protect themselves by following the below suggestions:

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

• Be cautious of insurance brokers who market their services in private community online forums or through ads in public locations like clubs, cafes or newsagents.

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

• Avoid insurance coverage brokers who utilize personal e-mail addresses or cellphone numbers to offer policies.

• If you're fretted about a policy you have actually acquired or the information don't look right, contact the insurance coverage supplier directly - do not use the information offered by the broker.

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

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Their fraud was revealed when monetary detectives found that he e claimed to have earned ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 in spite of pocketing more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance fraud alone.

When questioned by police, his child told officers he might not being given money by his dad and claimed he did not understand 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 scams by false 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 cash laundering offences and was offered 16 weeks jail time, suspended for 12 months. He was likewise ordered to complete 100 hours of overdue work.

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

The current figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) reveal the cost 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 pricey today than two years back, with the typical policy ₤ 478 in January to March 2023 - 23 per cent less than the first quarter of 2025.

It follows a remarkable rise 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 offense reporting service in 2024, compared with 22,530 in 2023.

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

The scams, called 'ghost broking' are typically promoted on social media, appealing inexpensive quotes for a car insurance plan.

Car insurance plan have dropped over the last year, but are still remain historically high

The automobile insurance coverage prices estimate that ARE too excellent to be true: Warning over surge in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims think they are being messaged by a buddy.

The most typical intentions for social networks hacking were investment fraud, ticket fraud or theft, Action Fraud said.

Fraudsters can likewise acquire account details through phishing frauds or information breaches.

People typically utilize the same password across accounts, so when one is dripped numerous accounts are left susceptible.

Action Fraud has released a campaign, supported by Meta, to encourage individuals to take additional online security by enabling two-step verification.

Victims frequently do not understand they have been scammed until they attempt to claim on their policy or if they happen to be stopped by authorities and asked to show their insurance documents.

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, told MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers normally provide premium costs far cheaper than customers can find somewhere else.

'Remember, if something sounds too excellent to be real, it practically certainly is.'

Young motorist Wayne Simpson bought a cheap automobile insurance plan on social networks before understanding it was phony after he was not able to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500.

Young chauffeur Wayne Simpson purchased an inexpensive vehicle 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 phoned Aviva and they told me there wasn't a policy gotten in my name and that the number we had actually provided was not a number they would use,' he told Sky News.

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

Mr Simpson stated the insurance documents looked so genuine that they managed to deceive a police officer at the scene of the crash.

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