A dad and son duo from Leicester scammed motorist out of more than ₤ 60,000 by selling useless automobile insurance that left dozens uninsured.
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Ilyas Rauf charged unsuspecting clients approximately ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left motorists facing potential fines and vehicle seizures, while secretly sharing thousands of pounds with his child Amer Ilyas.

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

They might either turn over a phony policy or a genuine one, which they subsequently 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 should you attempt to make a claim.

Rauf, 51, made ₤ 61,763 from August 2016 to January 2020 by providing created employment 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 given the job of hiring victims through social networks.

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

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

An examination found he utilized letters from a business called Eastern Catering to fraudulently obtain no claims discount rates.

He wrongly claimed his clients had actually worked for the company for multiple years without crashes or insurance coverage claims.

It was later found that the address Eastern Catering was signed up to was the very same utilized by Rauf to offer the fake policies.

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

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

Rauf was connected to 52 deceptive motor insurance coverage across four various insurance providers.

Ilyas Rauf's bro Ziaed was caught on CCTV removing two computer systems from the workplace while cops raided his nephew's home.

Four call had been made between the brothers before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully tried to obstruct a CCTV cam and ran away.

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

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to block a CCTV camera and fled

How to prevent succumbing to 'ghost brokers'

Karl Parr, from AXA UK, said consumers can secure themselves by following the below recommendations:

• Stay away from purchasing insurance policies promoted through social media platforms and instantaneous messaging apps.

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

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

• Avoid insurance brokers who utilize individual email addresses or mobile phone numbers to offer policies.

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

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

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Their rip-off was uncovered when financial investigators found that he e declared to have actually made ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 in spite of stealing more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance fraud alone.

When questioned by cops, his boy informed officers he might not keep in mind being given money by his father and declared he did not know 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 fraud by incorrect representation, breaching the Financial Services and Markets Act and moving criminal residential or commercial property and was imprisoned for 21 months.

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

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

The newest figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) reveal the rate of the typical automobile insurance plan in January to March 2025 was ₤ 589, a 6 per cent drop from the year before.

However, premiums stay more expensive today than 2 years back, with the average policy ₤ 478 in January to March 2023 - 23 percent 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 include fraudsters acquiring 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 networks, promising cheap quotes for an automobile insurance plan.

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

The cars and truck insurance coverage prices estimate that ARE too great to be true: Warning over rise in 'ghost brokers'

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

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

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

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

Action Fraud has actually introduced a campaign, supported by Meta, to motivate people to take additional online defense by enabling two-step confirmation.

Victims typically do not understand they have actually been scammed up until they attempt to declare on their policy or if they occur to be stopped by authorities and asked to reveal their insurance coverage documents.

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, told MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers usually offer premium prices far more affordable than clients can discover somewhere else.

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

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

Young driver Wayne Simpson purchased an inexpensive cars and truck insurance plan on social media before understanding it was phony after he was unable to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500

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

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

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

'She said," Your vehicle's not appearing as insured". Quickly I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance coverage documents, showed her the documents and she reviewed it and stated," That's completely great",' he stated.