Surveillance of Social Media Postings
May 05, 2020
Social media is like a personal diary, holding the privacies of daily life that people may believe is private information. In reality, this personal information is readily available for public consumption. Employers engage in this surveillance practice all the time, so it is only logical that the VA, Social Security Administration, or other entities would investigate your Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter posts for any information to detect fraud concerning disability claims. The general idea is to prevent payment of disability benefits to people who are able to work. Social media snooping has been seen in the U.S. government to detect Social Security fraud. To see more about this issue, click here. However, if the Social Security Administration has increased its social media snooping to investigate disability claims, it is possible the VA may be doing so as well.
With this increase in social media surveillance, there are some disturbing implications. If you are a veteran claiming VA disability benefits or collecting any type of disability payments, you will want to watch what you post on social media. Applicants are being denied disability benefits because of their postings on social media. It is common for people to post photos from vacations taken years ago or fail to update their current employment status. For instance, if a veteran has a claim for individual unemployability (TDIU), but Facebook or LinkedIn indicates that the veteran is currently working, then this can affect the veteran’s chances of obtaining or keeping disability benefits with the VA. Additionally, if a veteran is claiming disability benefits for an orthopedic disability but is seen in photo or video being active, then this evidence can serve as a basis for a denial. These types of scenarios have been seen at Legal Help for Veterans.
Therefore, it is vital that veterans and applicants for disability benefits, in general, are making sure the information they convey on social media is accurate. They should monitor and date stamp photos and avoid posts that create a misleading impression. While the purpose behind these social media searches is mainly to investigate suspicious cases and for fraud detection, other applicants with legitimate claims need to be on guard. Disability applicants should make sure their privacy settings are set so that everything they post cannot be seen by the public. Overall, there is no need to avoid social media, but it is best for social media users to be vigilant in monitoring what they post and to be truthful in their postings.