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A father and boy duo from Leicester scammed chauffeur out of more than ₤ 60,000 by offering useless vehicle insurance coverage that left dozens uninsured.

Ilyas Rauf charged unwary consumers as much as ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left drivers facing prospective fines and car seizures, while covertly sharing thousands of pounds with his son Amer Ilyas.

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

They may either hand over a phony policy or a real one, which they subsequently cancel to keep the refund for themselves.

Alternatively, they secure a genuine policy with incorrect information 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 forged work letters to secure discounted premiums for his victims.

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

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

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

An investigation found he used letters from a business called Eastern Catering to fraudulently obtain no claims discounts.

He falsely claimed his customers had worked for the business for numerous years without crashes or insurance claims.

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

Police discovered that his kid had actually also messaged 31 contacts about insurance on his phone in between October 2015 to March 2021, typically informing consumers that his daddy would offer quotes for them the next day.

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

Rauf was connected to 52 fraudulent motor insurance plan throughout four different insurers.

Ilyas Rauf's brother Ziaed was captured on CCTV getting rid of 2 computer systems from the workplace while police raided his nephew's home.

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

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

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to obstruct a CCTV cam and ran away

How to avoid succumbing to 'ghost brokers'

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

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

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

• Don't engage with insurance coverage brokers who ask for payment in money or through bank transfers. Reputable brokers will provide payment alternatives through an online portal.

• Avoid insurance brokers who use personal e-mail addresses or cellphone numbers to offer policies.

• If you're stressed over a policy you have actually bought or the details don't look right, contact the insurance service provider straight - do not use the details offered by the broker.

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

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Their fraud was uncovered when financial investigators discovered that he e declared to have actually earned ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 despite filching more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance scams alone.

When questioned by police, his son told officers he might not remember being given cash by his father 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 scams by false 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 offences and was provided 16 weeks jail time, suspended for 12 months. He was also bought 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 bought to finish 120 hours of overdue work after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice.

The most recent figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) reveal 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 remain more expensive today than 2 years earlier, with the typical policy ₤ 478 in January to March 2023 - 23 per cent less than the first quarter of 2025.

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

An overall of 35,434 reports were made to the scams and cyber criminal activity reporting service in 2024, compared with 22,530 in 2023.
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Hacking approaches consist of scammers acquiring control of an account and impersonating the owner to encourage others to reveal authentication codes.

The frauds, understood as 'ghost broking' are often marketed on social media, promising inexpensive quotes for an automobile insurance coverage.

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

The car insurance coverage estimates that ARE too good to be true: Warning over rise in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims believe they are being messaged by a buddy.

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

Fraudsters can likewise get account information via phishing frauds or information breaches.

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

Action Fraud has launched a project, supported by Meta, to encourage individuals to take extra online security by enabling two-step verification.

Victims often do not realise they have actually been scammed until they try to declare on their policy or if they happen to be dropped in police and asked to reveal their insurance coverage files.

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, informed MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers generally use premium prices far less expensive than customers can discover somewhere else.

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

Young chauffeur Wayne Simpson bought a cheap vehicle insurance plan 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.

Young driver Wayne Simpson purchased a cheap vehicle insurance coverage 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

'We phoned Aviva and they told me there wasn't a policy gotten in my name which 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 realise it's been a fraud.'

Mr Simpson stated the insurance documents looked so real that they managed to trick a law enforcement at the scene of the crash.

'She said," Your car's not popping up as insured". Straight away I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance documents, showed her the documents and she read through it and said," That's completely fine",' he said.