A daddy and son duo from Leicester scammed chauffeur out of more than ₤ 60,000 by offering useless vehicle insurance plan that left lots uninsured.

Ilyas Rauf charged unsuspecting customers up to ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left drivers dealing with prospective 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 intermediaries will declare they can get you vehicle or home insurance as a discount.

They might either hand over a phony policy or a real one, which they consequently cancel to keep the refund on their own.

Alternatively, they get a genuine policy with inaccurate information 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 created employment letters to protect affordable premiums for his victims.

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

The daddy and kid were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for scams offences

The National Crime Agency formerly shared a series of mocked-up Instagram advertisements providing '100% legit insurance guaranteed to beat any cost' to show motorists what to look out for

An examination found he utilized letters from a company called Eastern Catering to fraudulently get no claims discount rates.

He wrongly claimed his customers had worked for the company for numerous years without crashes or insurance claims.

It was later on discovered that the address Eastern Catering was signed up to was the very same used by Rauf to offer the phony policies.

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

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

Rauf was linked to 52 fraudulent motor insurance plan throughout 4 different insurance companies.

Ilyas Rauf's sibling Ziaed was captured on CCTV removing 2 computer systems from the office while cops robbed his nephew's home.

Four phone calls had been made in between the siblings before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully tried to obstruct a CCTV video camera and left.

Ziaed was captured on CCTV removing two computer systems from the workplace while cops robbed his nephew's home.

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to obstruct a CCTV cam and ran away

How to prevent succumbing to 'ghost brokers'

Karl Parr, from AXA UK, said clients can secure themselves by following the below guidance:

• Steer clear of purchasing insurance policies promoted through social networks platforms and instantaneous messaging apps.

• Beware of insurance coverage brokers who market their services in private community forums or through advertisements in public places like clubs, cafes or newsagents.

• Don't engage with insurance coverage brokers who request payment in money or through bank transfers. Reputable brokers will provide payment choices by means of an online portal.

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

• If you're stressed over a policy you have actually purchased or the details do not look right, call the insurance coverage supplier directly - don't utilize the information provided by the broker.

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

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

When questioned by authorities, his son informed officers he might not remember being given cash by his daddy 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 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, also of Normanton Road, pleaded guilty to cash laundering offences and was provided 16 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was also bought 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 complete 120 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice.

The newest figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) reveal the rate of the average cars and truck 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 2 years ago, with the average 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 networks and email hacking reports in 2015, according to Action Fraud.

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

Hacking approaches include scammers gaining control of an account and impersonating the owner to convince others to expose authentication codes.

The scams, referred to as 'ghost broking' are typically advertised on social networks, promising cheap quotes for a car policy.

Car insurance plan have dropped over the in 2015, however are still stay traditionally high

The vehicle insurance prices quote that ARE too great to be real: Warning over surge in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims think they are being messaged by a friend.

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

Fraudsters can also acquire account information via phishing rip-offs or information breaches.

People often use the exact same password across accounts, so when one is dripped numerous accounts are left susceptible.

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

Victims often don't realise they have actually been scammed until they attempt to claim on their policy or if they occur to be stopped by police and asked to show their insurance coverage documents.

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, informed MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers usually provide premium prices far cheaper than clients can find in other places.

'Remember, if something sounds too excellent to be true, it practically definitely is.'

Young driver Wayne Simpson purchased a low-cost cars and truck insurance plan 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.

Young driver Wayne Simpson bought a cheap car insurance coverage on social networks before understanding it was fake after he was unable to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500

'We called up 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 use,' he told Sky News.

'That's when the dust settles, and you understand it's been a rip-off.'

Mr Simpson said the insurance files looked so genuine that they handled to trick an authorities officer at the scene of the crash.

'She said," Your vehicle's not appearing as insured". Straight away I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance documents, showed her the documents and she reviewed it and said," That's totally great",' he said.
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