A father and child duo from Leicester scammed chauffeur out of more than ₤ 60,000 by selling worthless cars and truck insurance coverage that left lots uninsured.

Ilyas Rauf charged unwary up to ₤ 300 for void policies, which left drivers dealing with prospective fines and car seizures, while secretly sharing thousands of pounds with his son Amer Ilyas.

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

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

Alternatively, they secure a real policy with incorrect 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 providing forged employment letters to secure discounted premiums for his victims.

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

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

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

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

He incorrectly claimed his customers had actually 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 used by Rauf to sell the fake policies.

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

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

Rauf was linked to 52 deceitful motor insurance coverage policies throughout four different insurance companies.
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Ilyas Rauf's brother Ziaed was captured on CCTV getting rid of two computers from the workplace while police robbed his nephew's home.

Four telephone call had been made between the siblings before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to obstruct a CCTV electronic camera and got away.

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

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully tried to block a CCTV cam and got away

How to avoid succumbing to 'ghost brokers'

Karl Parr, from AXA UK, said consumers can protect themselves by following the below advice:

• Avoid buying insurance coverage promoted through social media platforms and instantaneous messaging apps.

• Beware of insurance coverage brokers who market their services in private community online forums or through advertisements in public places like pubs, coffee shops or newsagents.

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

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

• If you're fretted about a policy you've bought or the information do not look right, call the insurance company straight - do not utilize the details provided by the broker.

• To ensure 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 investigators found that he e declared to have earned ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 in spite of taking more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance fraud alone.

When questioned by police, his kid informed officers he might not remember being offered cash by his father and claimed he did not understand 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 scams by incorrect representation, breaching the Financial Services and Markets Act and moving criminal residential or commercial property and was jailed for 21 months.

Amer Ilyas, 28, also of Normanton Road, pleaded guilty to money laundering offences and was given 16 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was also purchased to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.

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

The current figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) reveal the price of the typical 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 two years back, with the typical policy ₤ 478 in January to March 2023 - 23 percent less than the very first quarter of 2025.

It follows a dramatic 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 crime reporting service in 2024, compared to 22,530 in 2023.

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

The rip-offs, understood as 'ghost broking' are often marketed on social media, promising inexpensive quotes for a cars and truck insurance policy.

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

The cars and truck insurance prices quote that ARE too excellent to be true: Warning over surge in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims believe they are being messaged by a buddy.
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The most common motives for social media hacking were financial investment fraud, ticket fraud or theft, Action Fraud said.

Fraudsters can also gain account information by means of phishing frauds or data breaches.

People often utilize the exact same password across accounts, so when one is leaked several accounts are left vulnerable.

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

Victims frequently don't understand they have been scammed till they attempt to claim on their policy or if they happen to be dropped in authorities and asked to reveal their insurance coverage files.

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, told MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers generally offer premium prices far cheaper than customers can find somewhere else.

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

Young driver Wayne Simpson purchased an inexpensive cars and truck insurance policy 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 chauffeur Wayne Simpson purchased an inexpensive vehicle insurance policy on social media before realising it was fake after he was not able to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500

'We phoned 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 informed Sky News.

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

Mr Simpson stated the insurance files looked so genuine that they managed to trick a law enforcement officer at the scene of the crash.

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