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A father and boy duo from Leicester scammed motorist out of more than ₤ 60,000 by selling worthless cars and truck insurance coverage policies that left dozens uninsured.
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Ilyas unwary consumers as much as ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left motorists dealing with prospective fines and vehicle seizures, while secretly sharing thousands of pounds with his child Amer Ilyas.

In the scam, fake insurance intermediaries will claim 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 consequently cancel to keep the refund on their own.

Alternatively, they take out a genuine policy with incorrect details 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 offering forged work letters to protect discounted 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 given the task of hiring victims through social media.

The father and child were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for fraud offenses

The National Crime Agency formerly shared a series of mocked-up Instagram advertisements offering '100% legitimate insurance coverage ensured to beat any cost' to reveal drivers what to watch out for

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

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

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

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

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

Rauf was connected to 52 fraudulent motor insurance coverage throughout four different insurance providers.

Ilyas Rauf's sibling Ziaed was captured on CCTV eliminating 2 computers from the workplace while police robbed his nephew's home.

Four telephone call had actually been made between the siblings before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to obstruct a CCTV electronic camera and got away.

Ziaed was caught on CCTV removing 2 computer systems from the workplace while police raided his nephew's home.

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to obstruct a CCTV electronic camera and left

How to avoid succumbing to 'ghost brokers'

Karl Parr, from AXA UK, said customers can protect themselves by following the below guidance:

• Avoid purchasing insurance plan promoted through social media platforms and instant messaging apps.

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

• Don't engage with insurance coverage brokers who request payment in cash or through bank transfers. Reputable brokers will use payment choices by means of an online portal.

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

• If you're stressed about a policy you've acquired or the information don't look right, call the insurance coverage company straight - don't use the details offered by the broker.

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

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Their fraud was discovered when financial investigators discovered that he e declared to have actually made ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 regardless of taking more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance coverage scams alone.

When questioned by authorities, his boy informed officers he might not remember being given money by his father and claimed he did not know what it was for.

The three 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 transferring criminal residential or commercial property and was imprisoned for 21 months.

Amer Ilyas, 28, also of Normanton Road, pleaded guilty to money laundering offenses and was offered 16 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was likewise purchased to finish 100 hours of unpaid work.

Ziaed Rauf, 47, of Thurnview Road, Evington, Leicester, was given 18 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and was purchased 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 rate of the typical cars and truck insurance coverage in January to March 2025 was ₤ 589, a 6 per cent drop from the year before.

However, premiums remain more pricey today than two years ago, with the average 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.

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

Hacking techniques consist of scammers getting control of an account and impersonating the owner to encourage others to expose authentication codes.

The rip-offs, referred to as 'ghost broking' are often advertised on social media, appealing low-cost quotes for a car insurance plan.

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

The vehicle insurance coverage quotes that ARE too great to be true: Warning over surge in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims think they are being messaged by a good friend.

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

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

People often utilize the exact same password across accounts, so when one is leaked several accounts are left susceptible.

Action Fraud has actually released a project, supported by Meta, to motivate people to take extra online protection by enabling two-step confirmation.

Victims often don't realise they have been scammed up until 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 typically use premium prices far less expensive than consumers can find somewhere else.

'Remember, if something sounds too good to be real, it probably is.'

Young motorist Wayne Simpson bought a low-cost car insurance coverage on social media 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 low-cost car 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

'We phoned Aviva and they told me there wasn't a policy gotten in my name which the number we had actually provided 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 files looked so real that they handled to fool a law enforcement officer at the scene of the crash.

'She stated," Your automobile's not appearing as insured". Immediately 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 completely fine",' he stated.