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

Ilyas Rauf charged unsuspecting clients approximately ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left chauffeurs facing prospective fines and vehicle seizures, while covertly sharing thousands of pounds with his child Amer Ilyas.

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

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

Alternatively, they get a real policy with incorrect information to bring the premium down - which would likely leave it void must you try to make a claim.

Rauf, 51, made ₤ 61,763 from August 2016 to January 2020 by supplying created work letters to secure affordable premiums for his victims.

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

The daddy 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% legit insurance ensured to beat any cost' to reveal drivers what to keep an eye out for

An investigation found he utilized letters from a company called Eastern Catering to fraudulently get no claims discount rates.

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

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

Police discovered that his child had actually likewise messaged 31 contacts about insurance on his phone in between October 2015 to March 2021, often telling customers that his father would provide quotes for them the next day.

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

Rauf was linked to 52 deceitful motor insurance policies throughout four different insurance companies.

Ilyas Rauf's brother Ziaed was captured on CCTV eliminating 2 computer systems from the workplace while authorities robbed his nephew's home.

Four call had been made in between the brothers before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully tried to obstruct a CCTV electronic camera and fled.

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

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to obstruct a CCTV camera and fled

How to prevent coming down with 'ghost brokers'

Karl Parr, from AXA UK, stated clients can secure themselves by following the below advice:

• Avoid buying insurance plan promoted through social networks platforms and immediate messaging apps.

• Be cautious of insurance coverage brokers who market their services in personal neighborhood online forums or through advertisements in public locations like pubs, coffee shops or newsagents.

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

• Avoid insurance brokers who utilize personal email addresses or smart phone numbers to offer policies.

• If you're fretted about a policy you've acquired or the information don't look right, get in touch with the insurance supplier directly - do not use the information provided by the broker.

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

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Their rip-off was uncovered when monetary private investigators found that he e declared to have made ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 in spite of stealing more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance coverage scams alone.

When questioned by police, his child informed officers he could not remember being provided money by his daddy and claimed 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 fraud by incorrect 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 money laundering offences and was offered 16 weeks jail time, suspended for 12 months. He was likewise bought to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.

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

The current figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) reveal the cost of the typical car 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 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 significant increase in social media and email hacking reports in 2015, 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.

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

The rip-offs, called 'ghost broking' are frequently advertised on social networks, appealing low-cost quotes for a cars and truck insurance coverage.

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

The vehicle insurance coverage estimates that ARE too great to be real: Warning over rise in 'ghost brokers'

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

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

Fraudsters can likewise gain account details by means of phishing rip-offs or data breaches.

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

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

Victims often don't understand they have actually been scammed till they try to claim on their policy or if they occur to be stopped by police and asked to show their insurance coverage documents.

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, told MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers normally offer premium rates far less expensive than customers can discover elsewhere.

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

Young chauffeur Wayne Simpson purchased an inexpensive 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 motorist Wayne Simpson purchased an inexpensive vehicle insurance policy on social networks before understanding it was fake after he was unable to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500

'We called Aviva and they informed me there wasn't a policy gotten in my name which the number we had provided 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 scam.'

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

'She stated," Your cars and truck's not turning up as guaranteed". Quickly 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 said.
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