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A father and son duo from Leicester scammed driver out of more than ₤ 60,000 by selling useless automobile insurance coverage policies that left dozens uninsured.

Ilyas Rauf charged unwary consumers up to ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left chauffeurs dealing with prospective fines and automobile seizures, while secretly sharing thousands of pounds with his child Amer Ilyas.
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In the rip-off, fake insurance middlemen will declare they can get you automobile or home insurance coverage as a discount rate.

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

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

Rauf, 51, made ₤ 61,763 from August 2016 to January 2020 by providing forged employment letters to secure affordable premiums for his victims.

Between September 2019 and June 2020, he shared more than ₤ 11,000 of his earnings with his 28-year-old son, who was given the job of recruiting victims through social networks.

The father and child were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for fraud offences

The National Crime Agency formerly shared a series of mocked-up Instagram ads offering '100% legitimate insurance coverage guaranteed to beat any price' to show what to keep an eye out for

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

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

It was later found that the address Eastern Catering was registered to was the very same used by Rauf to sell the fake policies.

Police discovered that his son had also messaged 31 contacts about insurance on his phone between October 2015 to March 2021, often informing customers that his dad would provide quotes for them the next day.

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

Rauf was linked to 52 deceptive motor insurance coverage throughout 4 different insurance companies.

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

Four phone calls had been made between the bros before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully tried to block a CCTV video 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 obstruct a CCTV camera and ran away

How to avoid coming down with 'ghost brokers'

Karl Parr, from AXA UK, stated customers can protect themselves by following the below suggestions:

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

• Be mindful of insurance brokers who market their services in private community forums or through ads in public places like bars, coffee shops or newsagents.

• Don't engage with insurance coverage brokers who ask for payment in cash or through bank transfers. Reputable brokers will use payment choices through an online website.

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

• If you're stressed over a policy you have actually purchased or the information do not look right, get in touch with the insurance supplier straight - don't utilize the details offered by the broker.

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

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Their fraud was uncovered when monetary private investigators found that he e declared to have earned ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 despite pocketing more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance coverage fraud alone.

When questioned by cops, his boy told officers he could not remember being given money by his father and claimed he did not know 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 false 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 given 16 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was likewise ordered to finish 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 complete 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 price of the average car insurance coverage in January to March 2025 was ₤ 589, a 6 per cent drop from the year before.

However, premiums stay more pricey today than 2 years ago, with the typical policy ₤ 478 in January to March 2023 - 23 per cent less than the very first quarter of 2025.

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

A total 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 fraudsters gaining control of an account and impersonating the owner to convince others to expose authentication codes.

The scams, referred to as 'ghost broking' are typically marketed on social networks, appealing cheap quotes for a vehicle insurance coverage policy.

Car insurance coverage have dropped over the last year, however are still remain historically high

The car insurance coverage prices quote that ARE too good to be real: Warning over rise in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims believe they are being messaged by a buddy.

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

Fraudsters can likewise acquire account details by means of phishing rip-offs or information breaches.

People often utilize the very same password across accounts, so when one is dripped a number of accounts are left vulnerable.

Action Fraud has introduced a campaign, supported by Meta, to encourage people to take additional online security by allowing two-step verification.

Victims typically don't understand they have been scammed up until they attempt to declare on their policy or if they occur to be stopped by cops and asked to reveal their insurance files.

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, informed MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers usually use premium costs far more affordable than consumers can find in other places.

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

Young driver Wayne Simpson bought a low-cost cars and truck insurance policy on social networks before realising it was fake after he was unable to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500.

Young driver Wayne Simpson bought an inexpensive car insurance coverage on social media before understanding it was fake after he was not able to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500

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

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

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

'She said," Your car's not appearing as guaranteed". Straight away I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance coverage files, revealed her the documents and she reviewed it and stated," That's totally fine",' he stated.