Do DWP spy on your social media?
Hello all,👋🏼
I had a question please, I’m really worried about losing my PIP in general because of the proposed benefits cuts which would affect me as I only got 2 in each daily living criteria.
ANYWAY…
This has made me more anxious in general. Can I ask, do the DWP ever go through your social media profile, as evidence that you may be ‘faking it’?
I am an artist, and I’m applying for jobs, and realising that a lot of jobs expect you to be proficient at social media. So I want to open an account on one of the social media platforms to make a project all about my art and disability: How the countryside is great, as it allows me to lie down and rest ( without that I cannot cope!) , and also sketch. A great way of seeing the world without moving!
BUT….
I’m worried if I am on social media either the DWP or some ‘do gooder’ ( not!) will see my pictures out on country paths, and think I am capable of walking and therefore not deserving of the low rate of my mobility benefit! Obviously this isn’t true, I have to use sticks, lie down a lot and am in constant pain. So I can’t do this walking reliably.
Any thoughts? I am just so stressed the whole benefits issue. Thank you 🙏
Comments
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Heya @Dee78 this is a question I think most of us ask ourselves fairly regularly, but still have no actual concrete proof for.
Though I'd say as long as every photo on your profile isn't you water skiing or flying planes, you should be ok. 😊1 -
Of course they do.
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Hi, YES THEY DO! I remember an article in a newspaper where a woman claimed to be single, get all the benefits SHE WASN'T ENTITLED TO then in the article it states that the DWP TRAWL THROUGH FACEBOOK ETC & ACTUALLY FOUND HER WEDDING PHOTOS! Obviously she was PROSECUTED.
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I think they do look for evidence that could contradict your medical issues but if it doesn't contradict it should be OK.
I am too scared of them so don't have my real name or photo anywhere online and I regularly search to make sure I haven't accidentally left a digital footprint somewhere.
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Capabilities of the DWP is often exaggerated to its advantage.
C'mon, the DWP hasn't got the resources, technology, or expertise to police benefit claimants' interaction on social media.
Investigation specialised services such as the FBI and Scotland Yard are already finding it very hard and often failing to police their well defined targets, leave alone the DWP which does not even explicitly require GCSEs for most of its workforce.
Getting scared is defeating yourself twice in any race.
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Social media is an independent, voluntary presentation of facts that can be used against a person.
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I would like to point out that water skiing requires almost no effort, unlike alpine or cross-country skiing.
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I think the wider question in the internet age is not just applying to just social media and government agencies like the DWP, it is because globalist-serving, ideologically-driven Labour want to spy on ALL internet activity, including this forum, in every country globally, not just here in the U.K. or Europe or the US - apart from the security services, things like the online safety act, digital ID and 5G, online hate speech laws, along with many other things highlighted by groups like big brother watch, are very concerning, as we saw even before Covid in the U.K. and in my native Ireland - I was first made aware of the digital issues long before Covid and yet during Covid, the level of state overreach and online censorship during Covid shows us the direction in which we are going - I’ve seen this massively accelerate during Covid, as a supporter of the Irish truth and patriot movement
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Proof aside, much of which in any case is covered by the official secrets act and where any freedom of information requests would be denied, we know that it does go on
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And these rules are also selectively applied based on various demographics
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If we believe this, we are dangerously underestimating the power they have, especially with the current Labour government, who would not think twice about weaponising the power of the state against innocent disabled people
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It is thought they do, if they have reason to investigate.
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I doubt they have access to private accounts, but many people have open accounts, showing photos, friends, posts etc. Plus if you post on a public group, this will come up in a Google search.
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Anecdotal but here goes - A former colleague of mine, it turned out they had been claiming for years to be separated, when were very much still married, as we all knew them to be.
The truth was only discovered when she wished him a happy 25th anniversary on Facebook; i thought nothing of this, as I knew he was married.
Imagine my surprise when his wife was pictured in the local paper, having been given 6 months in prison for benefit fraud!
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Most and that includes the police but not all government departments use social media to gather evidence. Be it working, moving heavy loads or even normal holiday snaps.
In the main the DWP, HMRC Insurance companies & Police are the main users.
I remember a local court case where someone was trying to argue that following an accident at work walking/moving around was almost impossible. I reviewed their facebook account and noticed holiday photos of him using a jet ski and para gliding.
He obviously failed in his claim and was eventually charged by the DWP for benefit fraud after they reviewed the case file.
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Mass surveillance goes on in most Western countries as a matter of course. Mostly for reasons of national security, but the term national security probably means something very different to the general public, the police forces and government and groups like MI5 and MI6. Unless you are a criminal about to do something horrendous, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Spying started to protect the ruling elites of one kind or another. Leave them to it.
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Obviously they are the authors of their own misfortune.
You would be surprised how people manage to drop themselves in the ****!
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