A daddy and boy duo from Leicester scammed motorist out of more than ₤ 60,000 by offering worthless car insurance coverage that left dozens uninsured.
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Ilyas Rauf charged unwary clients approximately ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left motorists dealing with prospective fines and lorry seizures, while covertly sharing countless pounds with his son Amer Ilyas.

In the fraud, phony insurance coverage intermediaries will declare they can get you car or home insurance as a discount.

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

Alternatively, they secure a real policy with incorrect information to bring the premium down - which would likely leave it void need 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 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 offered the job of recruiting victims through social networks.

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

The National Crime Agency formerly shared a series of mocked-up Instagram advertisements offering '100% legit insurance to beat any price' to show drivers what to watch out for

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

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

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

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

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

Rauf was linked to 52 fraudulent motor insurance policies across four various insurance providers.

Ilyas Rauf's sibling Ziaed was caught on CCTV getting rid of 2 computer systems from the office while cops robbed his nephew's home.

Four phone calls had been made between the bros before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to block a CCTV cam and left.

Ziaed was caught on CCTV getting rid of two computers from the workplace while police robbed his nephew's home.

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to block a CCTV video camera and ran away

How to prevent coming down with 'ghost brokers'

Karl Parr, from AXA UK, stated consumers can safeguard themselves by following the below advice:

• Stay away from purchasing insurance coverage promoted through social networks platforms and instant messaging apps.

• Beware of insurance coverage brokers who market their services in private neighborhood forums or through ads in public places like pubs, coffee shops or newsagents.

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

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

• If you're stressed over a policy you have actually bought or the information don't look right, contact the insurance provider straight - don't utilize the details provided by the broker.

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

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Their rip-off was discovered when financial detectives discovered that he e claimed to have earned ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 in spite of stealing more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance coverage fraud alone.

When questioned by authorities, his son informed officers he could not remember being provided cash by his daddy and declared he did not understand 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 scams 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, also of Normanton Road, pleaded guilty to cash laundering offenses 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 offered 18 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and was ordered 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 price of the average car 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 two years back, with the typical policy ₤ 478 in January to March 2023 - 23 percent less than the very first quarter of 2025.

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

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

Hacking methods include fraudsters gaining control of an account and impersonating the owner to convince others to reveal authentication codes.

The frauds, referred to as 'ghost broking' are frequently advertised on social media, appealing inexpensive quotes for an automobile insurance plan.

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

The automobile insurance coverage prices quote that ARE too excellent to be real: Warning over surge in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims believe they are being messaged by a pal.

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

Fraudsters can also acquire account details through phishing frauds or information breaches.

People frequently utilize the very same password throughout accounts, so when one is dripped several accounts are left vulnerable.

Action Fraud has actually launched a project, supported by Meta, to motivate individuals to take extra online defense by allowing two-step verification.

Victims typically don't understand they have been scammed until they attempt to claim on their policy or if they happen to be visited authorities and asked to show their insurance documents.

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, informed MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers usually use premium prices far cheaper than customers can discover in other places.

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

Young chauffeur Wayne Simpson bought a low-cost automobile insurance plan on social media 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 purchased a cheap cars and truck 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

'We called up Aviva and they told me there wasn't a policy taken out 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 understand it's been a rip-off.'

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

'She said," Your car's not turning up as guaranteed". Immediately I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance coverage documents, showed her the documents and she went through it and said," That's absolutely great",' he stated.
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