Coalition Against Insurance Fraud: Getting riled up for fraud in Twittersphere

Useful for egging on scams, teaching about dumb choices

Fraud braggadocio is alive and kicking on the Twittersphere, as we recently reported in FraudBlog. Now for another frontline dispatch …

Easy money … fun … risk-free. Like a video game — only for stealing real insurance dollars. That’s a frequent voice vote by consumers in our daily Twitter and Facebook convos.

A Tweeter riled up folks about slipping and falling his way to illicit payoffs in a recent thread using the hash tag #BoutToSlip. He said:

“I prayed and asked God to increase my finances and BEHOLD I found a wet floor with no sign in sight. #BoutToSlip”

Others used the same #BoutToSlip hash tag and chimed in:

“A wet floor with no sign at work? I prayed for this come up #BoutToSlip”

“God is good. I asked the Lord to finance my college and I see this unsalted and not shoveled pavement. #BoutToSlip”

We don’t know if these people made illegal claims. Yet mere braggadocio might click on a crime lightbulb and convince other Twitter followers to try an insurance scam. The thread above was retweeted 17,000 times. Fraud looks like so much fun. Why wouldn’t others wet their lips and try a seemingly easy grab for insurance payouts?

Until the real world steps in. Make dumb choices, make time for a permanent criminal record. That’s a big deterrent message we share on Twitter.

Doses of dumbness showed up in our recent live Twitter chat. Workers-comp investigators advised how to thwart fake injury claims.

The nub — bilk your employer at your peril. Surveillance videos posted and retweeted during the live chat drove home the point. Like the rocker who did a Beatles tribute concert while “injured.” ... Or the guy who said he couldn’t turn his head yet had a sweet swing on the golf course.

A worker stomped a hole in the floor and claimed he fell in it.

Twitter is a great forum for bragging and egging people to try an insurance scam. It’s an equally useful way to show people that dumb choices can earn a permanent price. Is a criminal conviction really worth it?