A father and boy duo from Leicester scammed chauffeur out of more than ₤ 60,000 by selling useless car insurance policies that left lots uninsured.

Ilyas Rauf charged unsuspecting customers approximately ₤ 300 for void policies, which left motorists dealing with possible fines and automobile seizures, while covertly sharing countless pounds with his child Amer Ilyas.

In the rip-off, bogus insurance coverage intermediaries will declare they can get you car or home insurance coverage as a discount rate.

They may either turn over a fake policy or a genuine one, which they consequently cancel to keep the refund on their own.

Alternatively, they secure a genuine policy with inaccurate 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 forged employment letters to secure reduced premiums for his victims.

Between September 2019 and June 2020, he shared more than ₤ 11,000 of his revenues with his 28-year-old kid, who was provided the task of recruiting victims through social networks.

The daddy and kid were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for scams offenses

The National Crime Agency previously shared a series of mocked-up Instagram advertisements using '100% legit insurance guaranteed to beat any cost' to show motorists what to look out for

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

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

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

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

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

Rauf was linked to 52 deceitful motor insurance plan across 4 various insurance companies.

Ilyas Rauf's sibling Ziaed was captured on CCTV getting rid of 2 computers from the workplace while authorities raided his nephew's home.

Four telephone call had been made in between the bros before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully tried to obstruct a CCTV camera and got away.
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Ziaed was captured on CCTV removing 2 computer systems from the workplace while police robbed his nephew's home.

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to block a camera and fled

How to avoid succumbing to 'ghost brokers'

Karl Parr, from AXA UK, said clients can secure themselves by following the below guidance:

• Avoid buying insurance policies promoted through social networks platforms and instantaneous messaging apps.

• Beware of insurance brokers who market their services in private community online forums or through advertisements in public places like pubs, coffee shops or newsagents.

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

• Avoid insurance brokers who utilize personal email addresses or cellphone numbers to sell policies.

• If you're stressed over a policy you have actually acquired or the details don't look right, contact the insurance coverage service provider straight - don't utilize the information offered 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 scam was revealed when financial investigators found that he e declared to have actually earned ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 regardless of stealing more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance scams alone.

When questioned by authorities, his son told officers he could not keep in mind being offered money by his dad and declared he did not know what it was for.

The 3 guys 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, likewise of Normanton Road, pleaded guilty to money laundering offenses and was provided 16 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was also purchased 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 bought to finish 120 hours of overdue work after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice.

The current figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) reveal the price of the average automobile insurance policy in January to March 2025 was ₤ 589, a 6 percent drop from the year before.

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

It follows a dramatic increase 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 crime reporting service in 2024, compared to 22,530 in 2023.

Hacking methods include scammers gaining control of an account and impersonating the owner to encourage others to expose authentication codes.

The frauds, understood as 'ghost broking' are often promoted on social media, promising low-cost quotes for a vehicle insurance coverage.

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

The cars and truck insurance coverage quotes that ARE too great to be real: Warning over surge in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims think they are being messaged by a friend.

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

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

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

Action Fraud has actually released a project, supported by Meta, to encourage individuals to take extra online defense by making it possible for two-step verification.

Victims typically do not understand they have actually been scammed up until they attempt to declare on their policy or if they take place to be come by authorities and asked to show their insurance documents.

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, told MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers generally use premium rates far cheaper than clients can discover somewhere else.

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

Young motorist Wayne Simpson purchased a cheap vehicle insurance plan 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.

Young chauffeur Wayne Simpson bought an inexpensive cars and truck insurance plan on social networks before realising 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 taken out in my name and that the number we had given them was not a number they would use,' he told Sky News.

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

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

'She stated," Your car's not appearing as insured". Straight away I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance coverage documents, showed her the files and she checked out through it and stated," That's totally great",' he said.
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