Half of Young Drivers Targeted by Fake Insurance Scams on Social Media, FCA Warns

If you are between 17 and 25 and hunting for cheap car insurance, the place you buy it now counts as much as the price. The Financial Conduct Authority has warned that half of young drivers are being exposed to “ghost broking” scams, in which criminals sell bogus policies through social media and messaging apps. The cover looks real, the price looks brilliant, and then it turns out to be worth nothing, leaving the driver unknowingly uninsured and one roadside check away from a fine, points and a seized car.

The regulator’s research, published on 20 May 2026, found that 49 per cent of drivers aged 17 to 25 had bought insurance through social media or messaging platforms, and that 39 per cent were not confident they could spot a fake policy. With money tight, a deal that undercuts every legitimate quote is exactly the bait that works.

What ghost broking is and how the scam works

A ghost broker poses as a legitimate insurance seller, often through a slick social media profile, a WhatsApp number or a Telegram channel, and undercuts the going rate by a wide margin. Behind the scenes, the policy they sell is worthless in one of three ways. It may be entirely fake, with no insurer attached to it at all. It may be a genuine policy taken out using falsified details, such as a made-up address, a different main driver or a fictional no-claims history, which brings the premium down but voids the cover the moment it is needed. Or it may be a real policy that the broker cancels shortly after pocketing the driver’s money, keeping the difference.

In every version, the driver is left paying for protection that does not exist. The first they tend to hear of it is when they try to claim after a crash, or when police flag their car as uninsured on an automatic number plate recognition camera. By then the money is gone and the legal trouble has only just begun.

Why young drivers are the target

Two things make 17 to 25 year olds the perfect mark. The first is cost. Younger drivers already pay far more than anyone else, with premiums for the age group routinely running well over a thousand pounds and often nearer two thousand for the very youngest. When a stranger online promises full cover for a few hundred, the saving is large enough to switch off the usual caution. The FCA found that one in seven young drivers, 15 per cent, struggle to fit insurance into their monthly budget at all.

The second is trust in the platform. Almost half of those polled, 45 per cent, said they generally trust products or services bought through social media. A generation comfortable buying clothes, gadgets and concert tickets from an Instagram post does not always apply extra scepticism when the product is a legal requirement for driving. Graeme Reynolds, director of insurance at the FCA, put it bluntly: “Tight budgets make cheap offers tempting, and scammers take advantage of that. Don’t get ghosted by a policy that doesn’t exist. Check the FCA Firm Checker before you buy, because driving uninsured could cost you far more than any premium.”

The survey behind the warning was carried out by Kantar between 24 April and 1 May 2026, covering 1,000 UK drivers aged 17 to 25.

How to check a policy is real before you pay

The good news is that verifying an insurer or broker takes a couple of minutes and is free. The FCA’s advice for young drivers is clear.

• Treat any deal that sounds too good to be true as exactly that. A price far below every comparison-site quote is a red flag, not a bargain.
• Avoid offers that exist only on social media or messaging apps. A genuine seller will have a proper website, a landline or business phone number and a registered address.
• Use the free FCA Firm Checker at register.fca.org.uk to confirm the firm is authorised, and make sure the contact details you have been given match the ones listed there. Fraudsters often “clone” a real firm’s name while giving you their own phone number and email.
• Pay by a traceable method and keep every document. Be wary of anyone who insists on a bank transfer to a personal account or payment through a messaging app.
• If something feels off, walk away and buy through a recognised insurer or comparison site instead. Premiums are climbing again across the market, as our report on rising car insurance costs explains, but a real policy at a higher price still beats a fake one at any price.

What it costs if you are caught uninsured

Driving without valid insurance is a criminal offence in the UK, and the penalties do not care whether you were deceived. If police stop an uninsured driver, they can issue a fixed penalty of £300 and six penalty points on the spot. Cases sent to court can bring an unlimited fine and disqualification, and the police have the power to seize the vehicle and, in many cases, crush it. Six points alone is enough to wipe out a newly qualified driver, because anyone who reaches six points within two years of passing their test has their licence revoked and has to start again.

On top of the immediate penalty, an insurance record showing an uninsured-driving conviction makes genuine cover far more expensive for years afterwards. The scammer’s “saving” can end up costing thousands. Anyone who fears they have been sold a fake policy should contact the insurer named on their paperwork directly to confirm whether a policy actually exists, and report the seller to Action Fraud and the FCA.

A problem that is growing fast

Ghost broking is not new, but it is spreading. The Insurance Fraud Bureau recorded a 52 per cent rise in ghost broking activity between 2022 and 2024, and Aviva reported a 22 per cent jump in cases since 2023. The shift to selling on social media and encrypted messaging apps has made the scam harder to police and easier to scale, which is why the FCA is now working with social media influencers to spread the warning to the audience most at risk.

The campaign sits alongside the Government’s Motor Insurance Taskforce, which is trying to bring down both the cost of cover and the number of uninsured drivers on the road. For young motorists, the takeaway is simple. Spend the two minutes to check the firm is real before you part with a penny, because the cheapest quote on social media can turn out to be the most expensive mistake of your driving life.

Picture the typical case. A 19-year-old is quoted £1,900 by the comparison sites, then sees a social media account promising the same cover for £600. They message the account, pay by bank transfer, and receive a smart-looking certificate and policy number by email. For weeks nothing seems wrong. Then they are stopped at a routine checkpoint, the officer’s system shows no live policy against the registration, and the car is seized on the spot. The £600 is gone, the certificate is worthless, and the driver now faces points that can revoke a newly issued licence.

Anyone who suspects they have been caught should act quickly. Phone the insurer named on the documents using a number from the insurer’s own website, not the one the seller gave you, and ask whether a policy actually exists. Report the seller to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 and to the Insurance Fraud Bureau’s Cheatline, and tell your bank straight away if you paid by transfer, because some payments can still be recalled. Keeping screenshots of the adverts and messages will help any investigation.

Sources:

• https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/young-drivers-warned-about-fake-insurance-sold-social-media
• https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/fca-firm-checker