Apparently, some claimants have not figured out that Facebook postings that are put up for all the world to see, that are not carefully made private through the highest security privacy settings, can be read by claims investigators.   So, investigators are looking up claimants’ Facebook pages.

They could find out, for example, that claimants are hiking, boating, running, ziplining, doing very heavy lifting, or other things even as extreme as sky diving and bungee jumping while claiming total disability.  So, claimants have to wake up to the fact that everybody in the world can read what they openly post without restrictions on their Facebook page, plus work comp adjusters and investigators need to start reading the Facebook pages of claimants who have suspicious claims. 

In New York, as was just published in the Insurance Journal, a woman was discussing on her Facebook page the information about her job and her salary.  This revelation brought to light that she had lied at her Workers’ Compensation benefit hearing, where she stated that she was not currently working in any capacity while collecting benefits.  Alexis Muniz has now pleaded guilty of stealing nearly $9,000 in work comp benefits and has been sentenced to three years probation for fraud.   She was back working for a previous employer and she was at the same time collecting benefits from her (supposedly) current employer. 

One reader of the Insurance Journal article commented:  “I love Facebook investigations.  I’ve read a handful of claims investigations where Facebook was an integral part of denying claims or moving forward with a fraud investigation.  I can’t believe what people are willing to post on there for the world to see.”

Readers may write to writer Lonce LaMon at lonce@adjustercom.com