FACEBOOK

The Department of Social Protection is showing a bit of enterprise by taking a leaf out of the book of recruitment companies, The Sunday Business Post says.

Officials are scouring Facebook accounts to review suspect benefit fraud by those claiming single parent payments but who have ticked the box marked “in a relationship”.

One woman told the newspaper: “A man from the department came to the door with a printout of my Facebook page – he wanted to know whether I was living with anyone.”

A department spokeswoman declined to say how many searches had been made on Facebook but said the use of tactic was not “systematic”.