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

Ilyas Rauf charged unsuspecting consumers as much as ₤ 300 for void policies, which left drivers facing potential fines and lorry seizures, while covertly sharing thousands of pounds with his child Amer Ilyas.

In the rip-off, bogus insurance coverage middlemen will declare they can get you cars and truck or home insurance coverage as a discount rate.

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

Alternatively, they secure a genuine policy with incorrect info to bring the premium down - which would likely leave it void need to you try to make a claim.

Rauf, 51, made ₤ 61,763 from August 2016 to January 2020 by supplying created employment letters to secure discounted premiums for his victims.
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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 recruiting victims through social media.

The dad and kid were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for fraud offences

The National Crime Agency previously shared a series of mocked-up Instagram ads offering '100% legitimate insurance ensured to beat any cost' to reveal drivers what to watch out for

An investigation discovered he utilized letters from a business called Eastern Catering to fraudulently obtain no claims discount rates.

He falsely declared his customers had worked for the company for multiple years without crashes or insurance coverage claims.

It was later on found that the address Eastern Catering was registered to was the very same utilized by Rauf to offer the phony policies.

Police found that his child had also messaged 31 contacts about insurance on his phone in between October 2015 to March 2021, typically informing customers that his daddy would offer quotes for them the next day.

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

Rauf was connected to 52 deceptive motor insurance policies throughout four various insurers.

Ilyas Rauf's brother Ziaed was captured on CCTV getting rid of two computers from the workplace while cops robbed his nephew's home.

Four telephone call had been made in between the brothers before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully tried to block a CCTV camera and left.

Ziaed was caught on CCTV removing two computer systems from the workplace while authorities raided his nephew's home.

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully tried to block a CCTV video camera and ran away

How to avoid coming down with 'ghost brokers'

Karl Parr, from AXA UK, said customers can secure themselves by following the below suggestions:

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

• Be cautious of insurance brokers who market their services in private community forums or through advertisements in public places like pubs, cafes or newsagents.
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• Don't engage with insurance coverage brokers who ask for in cash or through bank transfers. Reputable brokers will offer payment choices by means of an online portal.

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

• If you're stressed over a policy you've acquired or the details do not look right, get in touch with the insurance coverage company directly - don't use the details offered by the broker.

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

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Their scam was uncovered when monetary investigators found that he e claimed to have actually made ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 despite taking more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance fraud alone.

When questioned by authorities, his boy told officers he might not keep in mind being given money by his dad and declared he did not understand 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 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 given 16 weeks jail time, suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to finish 100 hours of unpaid work.

Ziaed Rauf, 47, of Thurnview Road, Evington, Leicester, was offered 18 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and was purchased to finish 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 rate of the typical car insurance coverage in January to March 2025 was ₤ 589, a 6 percent drop from the year before.

However, premiums stay more pricey today than two years ago, with the typical policy ₤ 478 in January to March 2023 - 23 percent less than the 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 scams and cyber crime reporting service in 2024, compared to 22,530 in 2023.

Hacking approaches consist of scammers getting control of an account and impersonating the owner to convince others to reveal authentication codes.

The frauds, known as 'ghost broking' are frequently marketed on social networks, appealing low-cost quotes for a car insurance policy.

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

The vehicle insurance coverage prices quote that ARE too excellent to be true: Warning over surge in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims believe 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 gain account details by means of phishing frauds or data breaches.

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

Action Fraud has actually released a project, supported by Meta, to motivate people to take extra online security by making it possible for two-step confirmation.

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

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, informed MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers usually use premium prices far less expensive than consumers can discover somewhere else.

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

Young motorist Wayne Simpson bought a low-cost vehicle insurance coverage on social networks before realising it was phony after he was unable to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500.

Young chauffeur Wayne Simpson bought an inexpensive car insurance plan on social networks before understanding 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 informed me there wasn't a policy secured in my name which the number we had actually offered them was not a number they would use,' he told Sky News.

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

Mr Simpson stated the insurance coverage documents looked so genuine that they handled to deceive a policeman at the scene of the crash.

'She said," Your vehicle's not appearing as insured". Immediately I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance coverage files, revealed her the files and she reviewed it and stated," That's totally great",' he stated.