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A father and boy duo from Leicester scammed motorist out of more than ₤ 60,000 by selling worthless car insurance plan that left dozens uninsured.

Ilyas Rauf charged unwary clients approximately ₤ 300 for void policies, which left drivers facing prospective fines and lorry seizures, while secretly sharing countless pounds with his kid Amer Ilyas.

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

They might either hand over a fake policy or an authentic one, which they consequently cancel to keep the refund on their own.

Alternatively, they secure a real policy with incorrect info 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 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 child, who was provided the job of recruiting victims through social networks.

The father and kid were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for scams offences

The National Crime Agency formerly shared a series of mocked-up Instagram ads offering '100% legit insurance coverage ensured to beat any rate' to reveal chauffeurs what to look out for

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

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

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

Police discovered that his boy had actually also messaged 31 contacts about insurance on his phone between October 2015 to March 2021, often telling consumers that his daddy would supply 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 connected to 52 deceptive motor insurance coverage throughout 4 various insurance providers.

Ilyas Rauf's bro Ziaed was caught on CCTV eliminating 2 computers from the workplace while authorities robbed his nephew's home.

Four phone calls had been made between the brothers before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to block a CCTV video camera and ran away.

Ziaed was caught on CCTV eliminating two computers from the workplace while police robbed 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, said customers can protect themselves by following the below advice:

• Steer clear of acquiring insurance coverage promoted through social media platforms and instant messaging apps.

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

• Don't engage with insurance coverage brokers who request payment in money or through bank transfers. Reputable brokers will offer payment options through an online portal.

• Avoid insurance brokers who use individual email addresses or cellphone 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 - do not utilize the details offered by the broker.

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

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Their fraud was discovered when monetary detectives found that he e claimed to have actually made ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 despite swiping more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance coverage fraud alone.

When questioned by cops, his kid told officers he might not keep in mind being provided cash by his dad and declared he did not know what it was for.

The 3 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 transferring criminal residential or commercial property and was jailed for 21 months.

Amer Ilyas, 28, also of Normanton Road, pleaded guilty to money laundering offenses and was offered 16 weeks jail time, suspended for 12 months. He was also bought to complete 100 hours of unsettled work.

Ziaed Rauf, 47, of Thurnview Road, Evington, Leicester, was offered 18 weeks jail time, suspended for 12 months, and was purchased to complete 120 hours of unsettled work after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice.

The latest 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 per cent drop from the year before.

However, premiums stay more costly today than 2 years ago, with the average policy ₤ 478 in January to March 2023 - 23 percent less than the first quarter of 2025.

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

An overall of 35,434 reports were made to the fraud and cyber criminal service in 2024, compared to 22,530 in 2023.

Hacking techniques include scammers acquiring control of an account and impersonating the owner to convince others to reveal authentication codes.

The frauds, referred to as 'ghost broking' are frequently marketed on social media, appealing low-cost quotes for an automobile insurance coverage.

Car insurance coverage have actually dropped over the last year, however are still stay traditionally high

The vehicle insurance estimates that ARE too excellent to be real: Warning over rise in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims think they are being messaged by a friend.

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

Fraudsters can also acquire account details through phishing scams or data breaches.

People typically utilize the same password across accounts, so when one is leaked numerous accounts are left susceptible.

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

Victims typically do not understand they have actually been scammed up until they attempt to claim on their policy or if they occur to be visited police and asked to reveal their insurance documents.

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

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

Young motorist Wayne Simpson bought a low-cost cars and truck insurance plan on social networks before understanding it was phony after he was not able to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500.

Young driver Wayne Simpson purchased an inexpensive automobile insurance coverage on social networks before understanding it was fake after he was unable to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500

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

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

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

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