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SSC Security Matters

Social Networking Sites: An Investigator’s Hidden Camera
by Sara Sibley, CPA, CFE

Social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter have recently become productive investigation tools for private investigators; in particular, workers’ compensation claims investigators. There have been an increasing number of cases in which investigators have found postings and photographs on social networking sites by individuals alleging injuries in which they are engaging in activities that discredit their claims. In addition to being a useful tool to discredit these claims, information obtained on these sites also provides valuable leads to guide the investigation. According to Pierre Khoury, a special investigator for Harleysville Group Inc., a Harleysville, Pennsylvania-based insurer, and a member of the Baltimore-based International Association of Special Investigation Units remarked "It’s the new video camera…now we have a new kind of video camera, but we are not actually the ones filming. They are filming it for us."

A prime example of this is a recent workers’ compensation investigation in which the claimant was making allegations that he was injured to the point that he was unable to return to his job as a financial analyst. However, he had posted details on the social networking site, Facebook, about his participation in a recent sporting competition along with time and date-stamped photographs of himself participating in the event. In a case like this, the investigator was able to obtain valuable insight into the integrity of the claim, as well as obtain information for future surveillance almost immediately and at virtually no cost, in turn saving the client time and money. With the increasing popularity of social networking sites, and the amount of evidence that can be obtained from them, an investigator would be remiss not to include this investigative tool as part of their arsenal.

It should be noted that there is a caveat with this particular tool. The nature of the investigation is a determining factor in what manner the information obtained from the site can be used. In the case of a workers’ compensation investigation, this information can be used to demonstrate the lack of integrity of the claimant’s allegations. However, in the case of a pre-employment screening investigation, there is controversy as to whether or not this information should be used to make a hiring decision. As there is currently no formal guidance on this particular subject, it is ultimately a business decision as to whether or not social networking site reviews are conducted during the course of various investigations.

© 2010 SSC, Inc.

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