Insurance companies, SSD and CPP Disability agents review your Facebook pictures

Facebook pictures of a night out dancing can be used to deny disability claims

If you are on disability claim or filing one, it is not a good idea to open your personal life to the world.

Pictures on Facebook can and will be used against you. That seems unfair but it is the job of people who adjudicate claims to find cheaters.

Even if you aren’t cheating, pictures of you dancing it up at a club or party can get you in trouble. Vacation snaps of you at Mount Rushmore or Disneyworld don’t indicate you are cured but they do say you are not bedridden.

If you are disabled and can’t work simple things like going for a walk get frozen in time in pictures. You might have rested for 4 hours afterward and be totally incapable of working 8 hours at a desk but the picture makes it look like you are able.

You can turn on the privacy features of Facebook so only your friends and family can see your pictures and read about your life. Even that is dangerous.

Most people have enemies. It’s natural and sometimes they are people you know who are mad at you or jealous about something. Life is full and friends breaking up and family feuds.

Someone on Facebook who is listed as a “friend” can easily send your pictures to the insurance company. There are people paid to snoop on other people for investigators and insurance companies. This is not a game for them: they mean business and stopping payment is their job.

Usually what happens is your claim is denied because they found an incriminating picture. Most long term disability policies will pay for two years and then they try to get you off the claim.

They can say you are capable of doing some other work, if not the work you used to do. Pictures and stories on Facebook that show you are capable of activity go towards the assumption you are capable of working. That’s when your payments are cut off.

Natalie Blanchard of Montreal found out about Facebook the hard way. Facebook posts cost disabled woman her benefits. She can apply to the court to get her benefits re-instated but that will cost her legal fees and the outcome is uncertain.

How much privacy?

Facebook has new privacy settings which allow you to restrict each category of posts to only friends, friends of friends and everyone.

Mark Zuckerberg the founder of Facebook shares very little with the public. His profile says “Mark only shares certain information with everyone.”

Even if you are not on disability, how wise is it to share your personal information with the whole world. The amount of fraud on the internet is growing and now surpasses the proceeds of organized crime.

Even a standard “friends” only listing can be dangerous since it shows who your friends are and people can attack you through friends. Skillful investigators only have to apply to be a friend of all your friends to get close to you. Someone is likely to say yes and they have moved into your next level of disclosure.

Adding to the problem is Google which now mines Facebook and displays private information.

The new Facebook privacy settings are detail. You can turn off everything but you may miss photo albums or some small part you would like to keep private.

The key is keep your personal life private. Living with a disability is enough of a burden. Being put in the spotlight by an investigator who wants to cut your benefits can make life even more difficult.

For a lawyer’s take on privacy and disability see Tips for Disability Claimants #2 – Avoid Opening a Facebook Account