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

Ilyas Rauf charged unwary customers as much as ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left drivers facing prospective fines and car seizures, while secretly sharing thousands of pounds with his child Amer Ilyas.

In the rip-off, phony insurance intermediaries will claim they can get you automobile or home insurance coverage as a discount rate.

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

Alternatively, they secure a genuine policy with inaccurate 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 providing created employment letters to protect discounted premiums for his victims.

Between September 2019 and June 2020, he shared more than ₤ 11,000 of his profits with his 28-year-old boy, who was given the task of recruiting victims through social networks.

The father and son were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for fraud offenses

The National Crime Agency formerly shared a series of mocked-up Instagram advertisements using '100% legitimate insurance coverage ensured to beat any rate' to reveal chauffeurs what to watch out for

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

He incorrectly 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 sell the fake policies.

Police found that his child had actually also messaged 31 contacts about insurance coverage on his phone between October 2015 to March 2021, often telling customers that his daddy would supply quotes for them the next day.

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

Rauf was linked to 52 deceptive motor insurance coverage across four various insurance companies.

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

Four telephone call had actually been made in between the bros before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully tried to obstruct a CCTV electronic camera and fled.

Ziaed was caught on CCTV eliminating 2 computers from the workplace while police robbed his nephew's home.

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to obstruct a CCTV camera and got away

How to prevent succumbing to 'ghost brokers'

Karl Parr, from AXA UK, said clients can safeguard themselves by following the below suggestions:

• Steer clear of purchasing insurance coverage promoted through social media platforms and instant messaging apps.

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

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

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

• If you're fretted about a policy you have actually acquired or the details don't look right, contact the insurance coverage company straight - do not use the details provided by the broker.

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

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Their rip-off was revealed when monetary investigators discovered that he e claimed to have actually earned ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 despite filching more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance coverage fraud alone.

When questioned by cops, his kid informed officers he could not remember being offered money by his father and claimed he did not know what it was for.

The 3 men 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 jailed for 21 months.

Amer Ilyas, 28, also of Normanton Road, pleaded guilty to cash laundering offences and was provided 16 weeks jail time, suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to complete 100 hours of unsettled work.

Ziaed Rauf, 47, of Thurnview Road, Evington, Leicester, was given 18 weeks jail time, suspended for 12 months, and was bought to finish 120 hours of unsettled 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 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 expensive today than 2 years earlier, with the typical policy ₤ 478 in January to March 2023 - 23 percent less than the very first quarter of 2025.

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

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

Hacking approaches include fraudsters getting control of an account and impersonating the owner to encourage others to expose authentication codes.

The rip-offs, called 'ghost broking' are typically promoted on social networks, promising inexpensive quotes for a cars and truck insurance policy.

Car insurance plan have actually dropped over the in 2015, however are still remain historically high

The car insurance coverage prices estimate 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 motives for social networks hacking were investment fraud, ticket fraud or theft, Action Fraud stated.

Fraudsters can also get account information through phishing rip-offs or data breaches.

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

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

Victims typically do not realise they have actually been scammed up until they try to claim 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 typically provide premium costs far less expensive than clients can discover somewhere else.

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

Young chauffeur Wayne Simpson bought an inexpensive automobile insurance coverage policy on social media before realising it was phony after he was unable to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500.

Young motorist Wayne Simpson purchased a cheap automobile insurance coverage 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 contacted Aviva and they told me there wasn't a policy gotten in my name and that the number we had actually offered them was not a number they would use,' he informed Sky News.

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

Mr Simpson stated the insurance documents looked so real that they managed to deceive a policeman at the scene of the crash.

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