A father and kid duo from Leicester scammed motorist out of more than ₤ 60,000 by offering worthless cars and truck insurance plan that left lots uninsured.

Ilyas Rauf charged unwary consumers as much as ₤ 300 for void policies, which left chauffeurs facing possible fines and car seizures, while covertly sharing countless pounds with his kid Amer Ilyas.
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In the rip-off, phony insurance will declare they can get you vehicle or home insurance coverage as a discount.

They may either hand over a fake policy or a real 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 should you try to make a claim.

Rauf, 51, made ₤ 61,763 from August 2016 to January 2020 by offering forged employment 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 child, who was offered the task of recruiting victims through social networks.

The father and son were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for scams offences

The National Crime Agency formerly shared a series of mocked-up Instagram advertisements offering '100% legitimate insurance coverage ensured to beat any price' to show drivers what to keep an eye out for

An investigation discovered he used letters from a company called Eastern Catering to fraudulently get no claims discount rates.

He incorrectly claimed his clients had worked for the business for multiple years without crashes or insurance coverage claims.

It was later discovered that the address Eastern Catering was signed up to was the exact same used by Rauf to sell the fake policies.

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

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

Rauf was connected to 52 deceitful motor insurance policies throughout four different insurance companies.

Ilyas Rauf's bro Ziaed was caught on CCTV getting rid of 2 computers from the office while authorities raided his nephew's home.

Four telephone call had been made between the siblings before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to block a CCTV cam and fled.

Ziaed was captured on CCTV eliminating 2 computer systems from the office while authorities raided his nephew's home.

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully tried to block a CCTV electronic camera and left

How to prevent falling victim to 'ghost brokers'

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

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

• Beware of insurance brokers who market their services in private neighborhood online forums or through ads in public places 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 alternatives through an online portal.

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

• If you're fretted about a policy you've bought or the details don't look right, get in touch with the insurance coverage provider straight - don't use the details supplied by the broker.

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

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Their rip-off was revealed when financial investigators discovered that he e claimed to have made ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 regardless of taking more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance coverage scams alone.

When questioned by authorities, his boy told officers he might not keep in mind being given cash by his daddy and declared he did not know what it was for.

The three guys 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 cash laundering offenses and was offered 16 weeks jail time, suspended for 12 months. He was also purchased to complete 100 hours of overdue 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 unpaid work after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice.

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

However, premiums stay more pricey today than two years back, 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 networks and email hacking reports last year, according to Action Fraud.

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

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

The scams, called 'ghost broking' are frequently marketed on social media, promising inexpensive quotes for a cars and truck insurance plan.

Car insurance plan have actually dropped over the in 2015, but are still stay historically high

The cars and truck insurance prices quote 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 common intentions for social networks hacking were investment fraud, ticket fraud or theft, Action Fraud stated.

Fraudsters can also acquire account information through phishing frauds or information breaches.

People often utilize the same password across accounts, so when one is leaked a number of accounts are left susceptible.

Action Fraud has introduced a campaign, supported by Meta, to motivate people to take extra online defense by making it possible for two-step verification.

Victims often do not understand they have actually been scammed till they attempt to claim on their policy or if they occur to be stopped by police and asked to show their insurance coverage files.

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, told MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers typically offer premium costs far less expensive than customers can find in other places.

'Remember, if something sounds too good to be real, it nearly certainly is.'

Young driver Wayne Simpson purchased a low-cost vehicle insurance coverage on social networks 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 low-cost cars and truck insurance coverage on social networks 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 told me there wasn't a policy secured in my name and that the number we had actually provided was not a number they would use,' he informed Sky News.

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

Mr Simpson said the insurance coverage documents looked so real that they managed to deceive an authorities officer at the scene of the crash.

'She said," Your automobile's not turning up as insured". Quickly I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance documents, revealed her the files and she went through it and stated," That's completely great",' he said.