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A dad and kid duo from Leicester scammed driver out of more than ₤ 60,000 by offering useless cars and truck insurance coverage policies that left dozens uninsured.
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Ilyas Rauf charged unwary clients approximately ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left chauffeurs facing prospective fines and vehicle seizures, while secretly sharing thousands of pounds with his son Amer Ilyas.

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

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

Alternatively, they get a genuine policy with inaccurate details to bring the premium down - which would likely leave it void should you try to make a claim.

Rauf, 51, made ₤ 61,763 from August 2016 to January 2020 by providing created work letters to protect reduced premiums for his victims.

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

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

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

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

He incorrectly claimed his customers had actually worked for the business for numerous 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 fake policies.

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

Amer Ilyas would then tell victims to visit the office or send out images of bank cards for processing of payment.

Rauf was linked to 52 fraudulent motor insurance plan across 4 different insurance providers.

Ilyas Rauf's brother Ziaed was caught on CCTV removing 2 computers from the office while police robbed his nephew's home.

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

Ziaed was caught on CCTV removing two computer from the office while police robbed his nephew's home.

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully tried to obstruct a CCTV camera and left

How to avoid falling victim to 'ghost brokers'

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

• Avoid buying insurance coverage promoted through social networks platforms and instant messaging apps.

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

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

• Avoid insurance brokers who use personal e-mail addresses or mobile phone numbers to sell policies.

• If you're fretted about a policy you have actually bought or the information don't look right, call the insurance provider straight - do not use the information provided by the broker.

• To guarantee 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 rip-off was revealed when financial private investigators found that he e claimed to have made ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 despite swiping more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance scams alone.

When questioned by cops, his boy informed officers he might not remember being offered cash by his dad and claimed 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 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, likewise of Normanton Road, pleaded guilty to money laundering offences and was provided 16 weeks jail time, suspended for 12 months. He was likewise bought to finish 100 hours of overdue work.

Ziaed Rauf, 47, of Thurnview Road, Evington, Leicester, was provided 18 weeks jail time, 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) show the cost of the typical vehicle insurance plan 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 first quarter of 2025.

It follows a remarkable rise in social media and email hacking reports last year, according to Action Fraud.

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

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

The rip-offs, called 'ghost broking' are frequently advertised on social media, appealing inexpensive quotes for a car insurance coverage policy.

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

The automobile insurance coverage estimates that ARE too good to be true: Warning over rise in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims believe they are being messaged by a good friend.

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

Fraudsters can likewise gain account details through phishing frauds or information breaches.

People frequently utilize the same password throughout accounts, so when one is dripped several accounts are left vulnerable.

Action Fraud has launched a project, supported by Meta, to motivate individuals to take additional online protection by making it possible for two-step verification.

Victims typically do not understand they have been scammed till they attempt to claim on their policy or if they happen to be stopped by police and asked to show their insurance coverage documents.

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

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

Young driver Wayne Simpson purchased a low-cost car insurance coverage on social media before realising it was phony after he was not able to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500.

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

'We phoned Aviva and they told me there wasn't a policy secured in my name and that the number we had actually 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 documents looked so genuine that they managed to fool a police officer at the scene of the crash.

'She said," Your automobile's not popping up as guaranteed". Straight away I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance coverage files, showed her the files and she went through it and said," That's completely fine",' he said.