A dad and child duo from Leicester scammed motorist out of more than ₤ 60,000 by selling worthless cars and truck insurance plan that left lots uninsured.

Ilyas Rauf charged unwary consumers up to ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left chauffeurs facing possible fines and vehicle seizures, while secretly sharing thousands of pounds with his kid Amer Ilyas.

In the scam, phony insurance middlemen will declare they can get you car or home insurance coverage as a discount rate.

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

Alternatively, they take out a genuine policy with incorrect information to bring the premium down - which would likely leave it void ought to you attempt to make a claim.

Rauf, 51, made ₤ 61,763 from August 2016 to January 2020 by providing forged employment letters to protect reduced premiums for his victims.

Between September 2019 and June 2020, he shared more than ₤ 11,000 of his profits with his 28-year-old boy, who was provided the job of recruiting victims through social media.

The father and boy 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 guaranteed to beat any rate' to reveal drivers what to keep an eye out for

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

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

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

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

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

Rauf was connected to 52 fraudulent motor insurance policies across four different insurers.

Ilyas Rauf's bro Ziaed was caught on CCTV getting rid of 2 computers from the office while police raided his nephew's home.

Four telephone call had actually been made between the bros before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to block a CCTV electronic camera and fled.

Ziaed was captured on CCTV removing 2 computers from the workplace while cops raided his nephew's home.

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

How to prevent succumbing to 'ghost brokers'

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

• Avoid buying insurance policies promoted through social media platforms and instant messaging apps.

• Be careful of insurance coverage brokers who market their services in personal community forums or through ads in public locations like clubs, 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 via an online portal.

• Avoid insurance coverage brokers who utilize personal e-mail addresses or mobile phone numbers to offer policies.

• If you're fretted about a policy you've bought or the details do not look right, get in touch with the insurance coverage service provider directly - do not use the information provided by the broker.

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

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Their rip-off was revealed when financial private investigators discovered that he e declared to have actually made ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 despite pocketing more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance coverage scams alone.

When questioned by cops, his boy informed officers he could not keep in mind being offered cash by his father and claimed he did not know what it was for.

The three men appeared at Leicester Crown Court on Friday, June 6.

Ilyas Rauf, 51, of Normanton Road, Highfields, Leicester, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation, breaching the Financial Services and Markets Act and transferring criminal residential or commercial property and was imprisoned for 21 months.

Amer Ilyas, 28, likewise of Normanton Road, pleaded guilty to cash laundering offenses and was given 16 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was likewise ordered to finish 100 hours of overdue work.

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

The latest figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show the price of the average cars and truck insurance coverage policy 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 average policy ₤ 478 in January to March 2023 - 23 per cent 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.

A total of 35,434 reports were made to the scams and cyber criminal offense reporting service in 2024, compared with 22,530 in 2023.

Hacking methods consist of fraudsters getting control of an account and impersonating the owner to persuade others to reveal authentication codes.

The scams, referred to as 'ghost broking' are typically promoted on social media, promising cheap quotes for a cars and truck insurance coverage.

Car insurance plan have actually dropped over the last year, however are still remain historically high

The automobile insurance estimates that ARE too great to be true: Warning over surge in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims think they are being messaged by a pal.

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

Fraudsters can likewise gain account details through phishing scams or data breaches.

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

Action Fraud has actually launched a project, supported by Meta, to encourage people to take additional online protection by making it possible for two-step verification.

Victims frequently do not realise they have actually been scammed till they attempt to claim on their policy or if they happen to be stopped by authorities and asked to reveal their insurance files.

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, told MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers generally provide premium rates far cheaper than consumers can discover in other places.

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

Young motorist Wayne Simpson bought an inexpensive vehicle insurance coverage 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 chauffeur Wayne Simpson bought a cheap car insurance plan 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

'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 informed Sky News.

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

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

'She stated," Your vehicle's not popping up as guaranteed". Straight away I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance files, showed her the documents and she read through it and stated," That's absolutely great",' he said.