Social media websites are often a great source of informationfor fraud investigators. These sites are a place where people postevery little detail of their day-to-day lives. This information ishandy for investigators, especially when claimants post thingsabout their frequent activity while they are supposedly disabledand collecting workers' compensation.

The most recent issue of the Journal of Insurance Fraud inAmerica (JIFA), published this summer, details how legalprofessionals, investigators, and other insurance companyrepresentatives sometimes deceive suspects into giving upinformation from these sites. Jim Quiggle, director ofcommunications at the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud (CAIF),explained that social media is the up-and-coming source ofpotential evidence in any kind of fraud investigation.

“Everybody is mining social media for clues in fraudinvestigations,” Quiggle said. “People love to brag about theirexploits on those sites. A person can tell all their friends how heor she scammed an insurer—people cannot resist the impulse.”