The article goes on to say that the information should be used as a red flag type of warning and not as final proof of any type of fraud, but in today’s world, who imageknows what could fly.  As you can see mentioned below, one firm actually published a study, “"Leveraging Social Networks: An In-Depth View for Insurers" so again a warning.

Insurers already have their connected exchanges of information and some of which have been around for a long time, but with adding publicly available social network information it can all go into an analytical algorithm that could increase your risk and may be even go as far as a premium payment.   The link below has more as well as information on how your medication records are bought and sold all over the place from pharmacies and from pharmacy benefit managers. 

Patients Like Me Experienced Data Mining Through a Data Mining Research Firm Break In –The Nielsen Company

With data being aggregated today and linked a red flag could even go up from “liking” a cancer support group, which is pretty scary but could lead to additional mining activities.  Also, watch what you do on Facebook too as you can be mined for marketing as well and for goodness sakes trash those coupons if you want privacy if you don’t really need them for drugs or other medical needs.  During healthcare reform time, folks were suckered in on Facebook if you remember a short while back. 

Have You Been Suckered In by FaceBook to Play Games To Support Employer and Insurance Company Reform Initiatives?

I did read recently where Facebook is going to require all software companies to use their virtual or funny money soon, so that might help a little.  

Habits and Identities Revealed via Coupons – Facebook Fan Pages Can Make User ID Visible – Shopping Algorithms Reduce Privacy And Increase Visibility

Attorneys from this article in the LA Times make a few comments as well with representing their clients on how some of this has come up.  The article says to even be careful about what you might joke about at times as that too could be taken out of context at some point in time.  Here’s one company that wants you to use their coupons for care.

Humana To Purchase Concentra Wellness In Texas Offering Coupons and An Entire Portfolio of Health Programs and Clinics

Here’s another link to where you can read up too and if advertisers are cashing in you can bet the insurers are looking and capturing data as next to Wall Street they have some of the most expensive and sophisticated software around for mining data, and some have subsidiaries that create the software and algorithms to do so.   

Habits and Identities Revealed via Coupons – Facebook Fan Pages Can Make User ID Visible – Shopping Algorithms Reduce Privacy And Increase Visibility

You do have to think that if they are going to connect one to a simple “Like” from Facebook to develop behavioral algorithms to predict your behavior, that is pretty bad and maybe Jimmy Kimmel had it correct not too long ago to unfriend and unlike everyone <grin>.  BD

More ambitious insurance companies are even exploring the possibility of using online data to help underwrite policies.
Celent, the insurance consulting arm of financial and insurance brokerage firm Marsh & McLennan Cos. recently published a study titled "Leveraging Social Networks: An In-Depth View for Insurers" and suggested that social-networking data could be used to help price policies.
Mike Fitzgerald, a Celent senior analyst, said life insurance companies could find social media especially valuable for comparing what people will admit about lifestyle choices and medical histories in applications, and what they reveal online.

That could range from "liking" a cancer support group online to signs of high-risk behavior. "If someone claims they don't go sky diving often, but it clearly indicates on their online profile that they do it every weekend they can get away," Fitzgerald said, "That would raise a red flag for insurers."

"Photos can be years old. People joke or write things in jest, but insurance companies use everything. Even if it's not true, it can be very damning," she said.

Insurance companies will "bring up anything — photos of you drinking to prove that you have bad character," he said. "Even if it's unrelated, just the impression that you are doing something wrong can sink a case."

Insurance fraud and social media: Insurers are scouring social media for evidence of fraud - latimes.com

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