A dad and child duo from Leicester scammed motorist out of more than ₤ 60,000 by offering useless automobile insurance plan that left lots uninsured.

Ilyas Rauf charged unwary customers up to ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left chauffeurs facing potential fines and vehicle seizures, while secretly sharing countless pounds with his son Amer Ilyas.

In the fraud, phony insurance middlemen will claim they can get you car or home insurance as a discount.

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

Alternatively, they get a real policy with inaccurate details 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 providing forged work letters to protect 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 kid, who was provided the task of recruiting victims through social media.

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

The National Crime Agency previously shared a series of mocked-up Instagram advertisements providing '100% legitimate insurance coverage ensured to beat any cost' to reveal drivers what to keep an eye out for

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

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

It was later on discovered that the address Eastern Catering was registered to was the same utilized by Rauf to sell the phony policies.

Police discovered that his kid had likewise messaged 31 contacts about insurance on his phone between October 2015 to March 2021, often informing clients that his father would offer quotes for them the next day.

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

Rauf was linked to 52 deceptive motor insurance policies across four different insurers.

Ilyas Rauf's brother Ziaed was captured on CCTV eliminating two computers from the workplace while authorities raided his nephew's home.

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

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

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to block a CCTV camera and fled

How to avoid coming down with 'ghost brokers'

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

• Stay away from purchasing insurance coverage promoted through social media platforms and instantaneous messaging apps.

• Be careful of insurance coverage brokers who market their services in private community forums or through advertisements in public places like bars, coffee shops or newsagents.

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

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

• If you're fretted about a policy you've acquired or the details don't look right, get in touch with the insurance provider directly - do not utilize the information offered by the broker.

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

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Their rip-off was uncovered when monetary private investigators discovered that he e claimed to have actually made ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 regardless of swiping more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance fraud alone.

When questioned by authorities, his kid told officers he might not keep in mind being provided money by his daddy and declared he did not understand what it was for.

The 3 males appeared at Leicester Crown Court on Friday, June 6.

Ilyas Rauf, 51, of Normanton Road, Highfields, Leicester, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation, breaching the Financial Services and Markets Act and moving 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 provided 16 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to complete 100 hours of unsettled work.

Ziaed Rauf, 47, of Thurnview Road, Evington, Leicester, was offered 18 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and was bought 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) reveal the cost of the average car 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 typical policy ₤ 478 in January to March 2023 - 23 per cent less than the very first quarter of 2025.

It follows a remarkable increase 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 criminal activity reporting service in 2024, compared with 22,530 in 2023.

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

The scams, known as 'ghost broking' are often marketed on social media, appealing inexpensive quotes for a cars and truck insurance plan.

Car insurance policies have dropped over the in 2015, but are still remain historically high

The car insurance coverage quotes that ARE too excellent to be real: Warning over rise in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims think they are being messaged by a pal.

The most common intentions for social media hacking were financial investment fraud, ticket fraud or theft, Action Fraud stated.

Fraudsters can likewise get account information via phishing frauds or information breaches.

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

Action Fraud has released a campaign, supported by Meta, to motivate individuals to take extra online protection by making it possible for two-step confirmation.

Victims often do not realise they have actually been till they attempt to declare on their policy or if they happen to be visited police and asked to reveal their insurance coverage documents.

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, told MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers generally provide premium rates far cheaper than consumers can discover somewhere else.

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

Young driver Wayne Simpson bought an inexpensive vehicle insurance policy 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 motorist Wayne Simpson purchased an inexpensive cars and truck insurance coverage policy 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

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

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

Mr Simpson said the insurance coverage files looked so real that they managed to trick a police officer at the scene of the crash.

'She said," Your automobile's not appearing as guaranteed". Immediately I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance files, revealed her the documents and she reviewed it and said," That's completely great",' he stated.
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