The use of social media allows us to reveal information about our private lives to friends or to the public at large. However, law enforcement may also glean information from social media to gather evidence against you if they are currently investigating you for a crime. Insurance fraud cases are one such example.
Insurance fraud involves a party filing a claim for coverage on grounds that turn out to be false. For instance, a person who files a personal injury claim may actually be in fine health. According to Claims Journal, insurance companies and law enforcement use social media in various ways to find evidence of fraud.
Social media and insurance fraud
People who file fraudulent claims may reveal evidence of their fraud on social media without knowing it. People who claim disability may post a picture on Facebook showing themselves walking or enjoying normal everyday activities. Parents may claim disability for their children, but their social media may show the children normal and healthy, participating in sports or other social activities as any healthy child would.
Sometimes a single social media post may lead to other media platforms that contain damaging information. A team investigating insurance fraud may find a post containing information leading to another social platform that has more incriminating posts, pictures or video. For example, a Facebook post or a tweet from Twitter may link to a personal blog or another platform with incriminating pictures and text.
Metadata
Photos and videos contain other information that can assist law enforcement. Known as metadata, this information describes other media. In cases of video or photos, metadata can describe the author of the media, the data of media creation, and the file size. Metadata can also provide GPS information, which can tell law enforcement where you were when you created the media, which can bolster a case of fraud.
