A father and boy duo from Leicester scammed chauffeur out of more than ₤ 60,000 by offering worthless car insurance policies that left dozens uninsured.
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Ilyas Rauf charged unwary customers up to ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left chauffeurs dealing with possible fines and lorry seizures, while covertly sharing countless pounds with his son Amer Ilyas.
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In the fraud, bogus insurance coverage intermediaries will declare they can get you car or home insurance as a discount.

They might either hand over a fake policy or a real 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 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.

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 job of recruiting victims through social networks.

The daddy and boy were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for fraud offenses

The National Crime Agency previously shared a series of mocked-up Instagram advertisements providing '100% legit insurance coverage guaranteed to beat any price' to reveal chauffeurs what to watch out for

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

He wrongly declared his clients had worked for the business for numerous years without crashes or insurance coverage claims.

It was later on found that the address Eastern Catering was signed up to was the very same utilized by Rauf to sell the phony policies.

Police found that his child had actually also messaged 31 contacts about insurance coverage on his phone between October 2015 to March 2021, frequently telling customers that his father would offer quotes for them the next day.

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

Rauf was connected to 52 fraudulent motor insurance policies across 4 different insurance providers.

Ilyas Rauf's bro Ziaed was captured on CCTV getting rid of 2 computer systems from the office while cops robbed his nephew's home.

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

Ziaed was caught on CCTV eliminating 2 computers from the workplace while police raided his nephew's home.

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

How to prevent succumbing to 'ghost brokers'

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

• Stay away from acquiring insurance plan promoted through social networks platforms and instantaneous messaging apps.

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

• Don't engage with insurance coverage brokers who ask for payment in money or through bank transfers. Reputable brokers will provide payment options by means of an online portal.

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

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

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

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Their scam was revealed when financial detectives found that he e claimed to have actually earned ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 regardless of filching more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance fraud alone.

When questioned by cops, his child told officers he might not keep in mind being provided money by his daddy 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 transferring criminal residential or commercial property and was imprisoned for 21 months.

Amer Ilyas, 28, likewise of Normanton Road, pleaded guilty to cash laundering offences and was provided 16 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was likewise ordered to complete 100 hours of overdue work.

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

The most recent figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show the rate of the average vehicle 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 ago, with the average policy ₤ 478 in January to March 2023 - 23 percent less than the first quarter of 2025.

It follows a remarkable rise in social networks and email hacking reports in 2015, according to Action Fraud.

A total of 35,434 reports were made to the scams and cyber criminal activity reporting service in 2024, compared to 22,530 in 2023.

Hacking approaches include fraudsters gaining control of an account and impersonating the owner to persuade others to expose authentication codes.

The frauds, referred to as 'ghost broking' are often advertised on social networks, promising inexpensive quotes for a cars and truck insurance coverage.

Car insurance coverage have dropped over the in 2015, but are still remain historically high

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

Many victims think they are being messaged by a pal.

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

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

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

Action Fraud has introduced a campaign, supported by Meta, to motivate individuals to take extra online defense by enabling two-step verification.

Victims often do not understand they have been scammed up until they try to declare on their policy or if they take place to be visited police and asked to show their insurance coverage files.

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

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

Young driver Wayne Simpson bought a cheap cars and truck insurance coverage on social networks 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 purchased an inexpensive car insurance coverage 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 told me there wasn't a policy secured in my name which the number we had given 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 coverage files looked so genuine that they handled to trick a policeman at the scene of the crash.

'She stated," Your cars and truck's not appearing as guaranteed". Immediately I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance coverage documents, revealed her the documents and she reviewed it and said," That's absolutely great",' he stated.