ORLANDO, Fla.–Paris Hilton might have seemed to be an unexpected topic of conversation at the International Association of Special Investigation Units' (IASIU) annual conference that concluded this week, but the socialite's recent legal troubles served as perfect fodder for the workshop, "All that Twitters: A Cyber Guide for Insurance Fraud Investigators and Their Attorneys."

"Ms. Hilton was recently arrested for possession of cocaine found in her purse, and she had the perfect Paris defense: 'That's not my purse, that's my friend's purse,'" said Attorney James Lewis, who taught the workshop alongside co-presenter Michael Beagle, CEO of DiscoveryPro. "However, three weeks ago, she sent out a tweet on Twitter telling the whole world that she had just purchased this exact purse, and included a picture for the whole world to see."

It's this kind of valuable public information that Mr. Lewis and Mr. Beagle say is readily available to insurance fraud investigators for no cost–although it comes with certain limitations and caveats. To keep investigators on the straight and narrow, the two designed a three-step process for conducting cyber investigations of web sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and eBay.