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

Ilyas Rauf charged unsuspecting customers up to ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left chauffeurs dealing with prospective fines and lorry seizures, while secretly sharing thousands of pounds with his son Amer Ilyas.

In the fraud, bogus insurance intermediaries will claim they can get you automobile or home insurance as a discount rate.

They may either hand over a fake policy or an authentic one, which they consequently cancel to keep the refund for themselves.

Alternatively, they secure a genuine policy with inaccurate details 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 supplying forged work letters to protect reduced 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 hiring victims through social media.

The dad and child were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for scams offences

The National Crime Agency formerly shared a series of mocked-up Instagram ads offering '100% legitimate insurance guaranteed to beat any rate' to show chauffeurs what to watch out for

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

He falsely declared 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 signed up to was the exact same used by Rauf to offer the phony policies.

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

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

Rauf was linked to 52 fraudulent motor insurance policies throughout four different insurance providers.

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

Four call had actually been made between the siblings before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully tried to block a CCTV video camera and fled.

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

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

How to prevent succumbing to 'ghost brokers'

Karl Parr, from AXA UK, stated consumers can safeguard themselves by following the below guidance:

• Stay away from buying insurance coverage promoted through social networks platforms and instant messaging apps.

• Beware of insurance brokers who market their services in personal neighborhood forums or through ads in public places like clubs, cafes or newsagents.

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

• Avoid insurance brokers who use personal email addresses or mobile phone numbers to offer policies.

• If you're stressed over a policy you have actually purchased or the information do not look right, get in touch with the insurance coverage supplier directly - do not use the details provided 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 fraud was uncovered when financial detectives found that he e declared to have earned ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 regardless of taking more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance scams alone.

When questioned by cops, his boy told officers he might not keep in mind being offered money by his father and declared he did not know 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 fraud 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 imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was likewise purchased to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.

Ziaed Rauf, 47, of Thurnview Road, Evington, Leicester, was provided 18 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and was bought to complete 120 hours of unsettled work after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice.

The current figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show the rate of the average car insurance coverage in January to March 2025 was ₤ 589, a 6 per cent drop from the year before.

However, premiums stay more costly today than two 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 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 to 22,530 in 2023.

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

The rip-offs, known as 'ghost broking' are often promoted on social networks, promising cheap quotes for a vehicle insurance coverage.

Car insurance plan have dropped over the last year, however are still stay traditionally high

The automobile insurance 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 media hacking were investment scams, ticket fraud or theft, Action Fraud stated.

Fraudsters can also gain account information through phishing scams or information breaches.

People frequently use the exact same password across accounts, so when one is leaked a number of accounts are left susceptible.

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

Victims typically do not understand they have been scammed up until they try to declare on their policy or if they occur to be stopped by authorities and asked to show their insurance coverage documents.

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, told MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers usually offer premium prices far less expensive than clients can discover in other places.

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

Young driver Wayne Simpson bought a cheap vehicle insurance coverage on social media before understanding it was phony after he was not able to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500.

Young motorist Wayne Simpson purchased a low-cost automobile insurance plan 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 called Aviva and they informed me there wasn't a policy secured in my name which the number we had provided was not a number they would use,' he informed Sky News.

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

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

'She stated," Your car's not popping up as insured". Quickly I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance files, showed her the documents and she went through it and stated," That's absolutely great",' he stated.