If social media experts and regulators haven’t yet convinced the mortgage industry to monitor social messages, jaw-dropping reports based on social accounts from the nursing home industry provide a cautionary tale.

Recently, nursing home employees have been caught posting embarrassing photos of patients with Snapchat and other social platforms, at the expense of helpless residents. The incidents were reported by ProPublica.

In one example, a nursing assistant in Michigan was convicted of using a computer to commit a crime (officially described as “patient abuse” by the Michigan Bureau of Health Care Services) after posting embarrassing photos of a patient.

California is also prosecuting a nursing assistant on criminal charges based on social media practices. The laws violated mostly pertain to patient privacy and abuse, and carry criminal and civil penalties.

What can mortgage companies learn from these examples?

• First, realize that any inappropriate posts related to your business won’t stay private. Someone, somewhere, will find them. It will take most people less than 30 seconds to identify the employer of the convicted nursing aide in Michigan, which could be disastrous for the nursing home’s reputation and the confidence of its clients.
• Second, if an employee is charged with a crime based on their social media use, don’t say “no comment.” It’s a far better practice to offer up your company’s implemented social media policy, pointing out if and how it was violated and what sanctions apply to the situation.

Two months ago, I wrote about 10 Things Loan Originators Should Not Do on Social Media. I’ll add an 11th here: For the mortgage industry, never post photos of your clients, customers, co-workers or contractors, without their knowledge and consent. If the photos are embarrassing or would compromise their privacy, don’t post them, EVER. In addition, if you receive images like this, report them, and warn the sender that a so-called joke could result in a conviction.

In addition, the FFIEC and CFPB require mortgage companies to identify, measure, and control the risks related to social media.

An old adage still applies in our social media ruled world: Practice good judgement. Better safe than sorry.