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A father and boy duo from Leicester scammed driver out of more than ₤ 60,000 by selling worthless vehicle insurance coverage that left dozens uninsured.

Ilyas Rauf charged unsuspecting customers up to ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left motorists dealing with potential fines and car seizures, while secretly sharing countless pounds with his boy Amer Ilyas.

In the scam, bogus insurance intermediaries will declare they can get you cars and truck or home insurance coverage as a discount rate.

They might either turn over a phony policy or an authentic one, which they consequently cancel to keep the refund for themselves.

Alternatively, they secure a real policy with inaccurate information to bring the premium down - which would likely leave it void must you try to make a claim.

Rauf, 51, made ₤ 61,763 from August 2016 to January 2020 by supplying forged work letters to protect affordable premiums for his victims.

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

The father and child were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for scams offenses

The National Crime Agency formerly shared a series of mocked-up Instagram ads using '100% legitimate insurance ensured to beat any cost' to show chauffeurs what to keep an eye out for

An examination discovered he utilized letters from a business called Eastern Catering to fraudulently acquire no claims discounts.

He wrongly declared his clients had worked for the company 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 fake policies.

Police discovered that his kid had also messaged 31 contacts about insurance on his phone between October 2015 to March 2021, often informing consumers that his dad 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 insurers.

Ilyas Rauf's bro Ziaed was caught on CCTV removing 2 computer systems from the workplace while police robbed his nephew's home.

Four call had actually been made in between the bros before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to block a CCTV camera and fled.

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

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

How to avoid coming down with 'ghost brokers'

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

• Stay away from buying insurance policies promoted through social networks platforms and immediate messaging apps.

• Beware of insurance coverage brokers who market their services in personal community forums or through advertisements in public locations like pubs, cafes or newsagents.

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

• Avoid insurance coverage brokers who use individual e-mail addresses or smart phone numbers to offer policies.

• If you're stressed about a policy you've bought or the details don't look right, call the insurance supplier directly - do not utilize the details provided by the broker.

• To ensure you're handling an authorised insurance coverage broker, examine 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 earned ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 in spite of filching more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance scams alone.

When questioned by authorities, his son told officers he could not remember being offered money by his father and declared he did not understand what it was for.

The 3 guys 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 imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was also bought to finish 100 hours of unsettled 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 overdue work after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice.

The current figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) reveal the cost of the typical automobile insurance coverage in January to March 2025 was ₤ 589, a 6 percent 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 percent 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.

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 methods consist of fraudsters gaining control of an account and impersonating the owner to encourage others to reveal authentication codes.

The rip-offs, referred to as 'ghost broking' are typically promoted on social media, promising low-cost quotes for a cars and truck insurance plan.

Car insurance policies have actually dropped over the in 2015, however are still remain traditionally high

The cars and truck insurance quotes that ARE too excellent to be real: Warning over surge in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims believe they are being messaged by a friend.

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

Fraudsters can likewise acquire account information via phishing scams or data breaches.

People often use the same password throughout accounts, so when one is dripped a number of accounts are left vulnerable.

Action Fraud has actually released a project, supported by Meta, to motivate individuals to take extra online protection by enabling two-step .

Victims often don't understand they have actually been scammed until they try to declare on their policy or if they happen to be visited police and asked to show their insurance documents.

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

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

Young motorist Wayne Simpson purchased a cheap vehicle insurance coverage policy on social media before understanding it was fake after he was unable to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500.

Young motorist Wayne Simpson purchased a low-cost car insurance plan 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

'We contacted Aviva and they informed 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 understand it's been a fraud.'
investopedia.com
Mr Simpson stated the insurance coverage files looked so genuine that they managed to trick an authorities officer at the scene of the crash.

'She stated," Your automobile's not popping up as guaranteed". Quickly I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance documents, revealed her the documents and she went through it and stated," That's totally fine",' he said.