1 Father-son Duo 'ghost Brokers' Scammed Drivers Out Of ₤ 60k.
isaacgarris850 edited this page 2025-06-18 13:11:36 +08:00


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

Ilyas Rauf charged unwary clients approximately ₤ 300 for invalid policies, which left motorists facing potential fines and car seizures, while covertly sharing countless pounds with his son Amer Ilyas.

In the fraud, bogus insurance coverage middlemen will declare they can get you cars and truck or home insurance as a discount.

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

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

Rauf, 51, made ₤ 61,763 from August 2016 to January 2020 by supplying forged employment letters to protect reduced 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 provided the job of hiring victims through social media.

The daddy and son were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for scams offences

The National Crime Agency formerly shared a series of mocked-up Instagram ads providing '100% legitimate insurance ensured to beat any price' to reveal motorists what to keep an eye out for

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

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

It was later discovered that the address Eastern Catering was registered to was the exact same utilized by Rauf to offer the fake policies.

Police discovered that his boy had also messaged 31 contacts about insurance coverage on his phone in between October 2015 to March 2021, often telling clients that his daddy would offer quotes for them the next day.

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

Rauf was connected to 52 fraudulent motor insurance coverage throughout 4 various insurers.

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

Four phone calls had actually been made in between the siblings before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to block a CCTV video camera and got away.

Ziaed was captured on CCTV eliminating 2 computers from the office while cops robbed his nephew's home.

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to block a CCTV cam and left

How to prevent coming down with 'ghost brokers'

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

• Steer clear of purchasing insurance coverage promoted through social media platforms and instantaneous messaging apps.

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

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

• Avoid insurance coverage brokers who use individual email addresses or smart phone numbers to offer policies.

• If you're fretted about a policy you've bought or the information do not look right, call the insurance supplier straight - don't use the information provided by the broker.

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

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Their scam was uncovered when financial detectives discovered that he e claimed to have earned ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 regardless of taking more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance scams alone.

When questioned by police, his child told officers he might not remember being offered cash by his dad 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 incorrect 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 money laundering offences and was given 16 weeks jail time, suspended for 12 months. He was likewise purchased to complete 100 hours of overdue work.

Ziaed Rauf, 47, of Thurnview Road, Evington, Leicester, was given 18 weeks jail time, suspended for 12 months, and was bought to complete 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 average automobile 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 2 years back, with the typical policy ₤ 478 in January to March 2023 - 23 percent 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.

A total of 35,434 reports were made to the fraud 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 encourage others to reveal authentication codes.

The scams, understood as 'ghost broking' are frequently promoted on social media, promising low-cost quotes for a cars and truck insurance plan.

Car insurance policies have dropped over the in 2015, but are still stay historically high

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

Many victims believe they are being messaged by a friend.

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

Fraudsters can also acquire account details through phishing rip-offs or data breaches.

People typically use the same password throughout accounts, so when one is leaked several accounts are left susceptible.

Action Fraud has actually introduced a project, supported by Meta, to encourage people to take additional online defense by enabling two-step confirmation.

Victims frequently don't understand they have been scammed till they try to claim on their policy or if they happen to be dropped in cops and asked to show their insurance coverage documents.

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, informed MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers usually use premium costs far cheaper than customers can find elsewhere.

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

Young driver Wayne Simpson bought a low-cost policy on social networks before understanding it was phony after he was unable to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500.

Young motorist Wayne Simpson bought a low-cost car insurance coverage policy on social networks before understanding it was fake after he was not able to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500

'We contacted Aviva and they informed me there wasn't a policy gotten in my name which the number we had actually offered them was not a number they would use,' he informed Sky News.

'That's when the dust settles, and you understand it's been a scam.'

Mr Simpson said the insurance coverage documents looked so genuine that they managed to trick a cops officer at the scene of the crash.

'She said," Your automobile's not popping up as insured". Immediately I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance files, showed her the files and she went through it and said," That's completely great",' he stated.
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