A daddy and son duo from Leicester scammed chauffeur out of more than ₤ 60,000 by selling worthless cars and truck insurance coverage that left lots uninsured.
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Ilyas Rauf charged unsuspecting customers approximately ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left motorists dealing with potential fines and vehicle seizures, while covertly sharing thousands of pounds with his boy Amer Ilyas.

In the fraud, fake insurance coverage intermediaries will claim they can get you vehicle or home as a discount rate.

They might either hand over a fake policy or a genuine one, which they subsequently cancel to keep the refund for themselves.

Alternatively, they get a genuine policy with incorrect info 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 supplying created work letters to protect reduced premiums for his victims.

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 task of recruiting victims through social media.

The dad and son were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for scams offenses

The National Crime Agency previously shared a series of mocked-up Instagram ads providing '100% legitimate insurance guaranteed to beat any price' to reveal motorists what to keep an eye out for

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

He incorrectly declared his clients had actually worked for the company for numerous years without crashes or insurance coverage claims.

It was later on discovered that the address Eastern Catering was signed up to was the exact same used by Rauf to offer the phony policies.

Police discovered that his kid had actually also messaged 31 contacts about insurance on his phone in between October 2015 to March 2021, frequently telling clients that his father would provide quotes for them the next day.

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

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

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

Four telephone call had actually been made in between the siblings before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully tried to block a CCTV electronic camera and ran away.

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

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully tried to block a CCTV video camera and fled

How to prevent succumbing to 'ghost brokers'

Karl Parr, from AXA UK, said customers can protect themselves by following the below guidance:

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

• Be careful of insurance coverage brokers who market their services in private neighborhood forums or through advertisements in public places like bars, 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 through an online website.

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

• If you're fretted about a policy you've acquired or the details don't look right, get in touch with the insurance coverage provider directly - don't use the details offered by the broker.

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

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Their rip-off was discovered when monetary detectives discovered that he e claimed to have earned ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 regardless of filching more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance coverage fraud alone.

When questioned by police, his kid told officers he could not keep in mind being offered cash by his father and declared 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 false representation, breaching the Financial Services and Markets Act and moving criminal residential or commercial property and was imprisoned for 21 months.

Amer Ilyas, 28, likewise of Normanton Road, pleaded guilty to money laundering offenses and was offered 16 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was likewise ordered to finish 100 hours of unpaid work.

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

The most current figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show the rate of the typical cars and truck insurance coverage in January to March 2025 was ₤ 589, a 6 per cent drop from the year before.

However, premiums remain more costly today than 2 years back, with the average policy ₤ 478 in January to March 2023 - 23 per cent less than the very first quarter of 2025.

It follows a dramatic rise in social networks and email hacking reports last year, 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 techniques consist of scammers acquiring control of an account and impersonating the owner to persuade others to reveal authentication codes.

The rip-offs, called 'ghost broking' are often advertised on social media, appealing low-cost quotes for a car insurance policy.

Car insurance plan have dropped over the last year, however are still stay historically high

The automobile insurance estimates that ARE too good to be real: Warning over surge in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims believe they are being messaged by a pal.

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

Fraudsters can likewise get account information by means of phishing frauds or data breaches.

People often use the very same password throughout accounts, so when one is leaked several accounts are left vulnerable.

Action Fraud has actually launched a project, supported by Meta, to motivate people to take additional online defense by allowing two-step confirmation.

Victims typically do not understand they have actually been scammed up until they try to claim on their policy or if they happen to be visited cops and asked to reveal their insurance coverage files.

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

'Remember, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.'

Young motorist Wayne Simpson purchased an inexpensive vehicle insurance policy on social media before realising it was phony after he was unable to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500.

Young driver Wayne Simpson bought a low-cost automobile 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

'We called Aviva and they told me there wasn't a policy secured in my name and that the number we had provided was not a number they would use,' he told Sky News.

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

Mr Simpson stated the insurance coverage files looked so real that they handled to deceive a cops officer at the scene of the crash.

'She said," Your car's not popping up as insured". Immediately I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance coverage documents, revealed her the files and she checked out it and said," That's completely great",' he said.
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