Monday, October 5, 2015

Can You Prove You are You? 3 Ways to Protect Your Identity if Disaster Strikes


Imagine a fire, a flood, a tornado taking everything – your home and all of its contents. Imagine your laptop, smart phone, files and wallet - gone, too. Could you recreate your identity? Could you prove you are who you say you are?

Could you prove you are YOU?


Victims of Hurricane Katrina faced this complicated form of “identify theft” when flood waters washed away everything they ever owned, as described in this story.

·         Passports and birth certificates: gone
·         Keys to bank deposit boxes: gone
·         Driver’s licenses, utility bills, credit cards: gone

                             
      
September was National Preparedness Month and we heard an awful lot about emergency kits and safety plans. Indeed, I wrote about three different kinds of kits here. But perhaps the most important kit of all is the Identity Kit – a collection of all the data needed to rebuild one’s life – should disaster strike.


The Identity Kit

Like any emergency kit, it’s better to have some kind of Identify Kit versus no kind of Identity Kit. Here are three options for safeguarding your important information (a list of vital documents follows):

Old School: take TWO front and back copies of all important cards and documents. Keep one set in a safe location in your home. Make sure you remember where it is and that it’s accessible in an emergency. Secure the other set with a trusted person in another state or city.

Tech All the Way: use spreadsheets, inventory software, or password managers to track account numbers, usernames, and other important data. Upload pictures and photocopies, too. Store everything in the cloud for easy access anywhere.

Diversify: if Old School seems too limited, and Tech All the Way too risky, a combination of paper copies, electronic docs and cloud storage will cover all bases.




THE IDENTITY KIT

IDENTITY
DOCUMENTS

Birth Certificates
Marriage Certificate/Divorce Certificate
Passports
Social Security Cards
Driver’s Licenses/State Issued ID Cards
FINANCIAL
DOCUMENTS

Bank Accounts
Credit Card Accounts
Investment Accounts
Securities & Trusts
Last Tax Return
Loan Documents
Outstanding Debts
Safe Deposit Box Key
PROPERTY

Mortgage Papers/Deed
Other Properties (rentals, vacation homes)
Car Title(s)
Other Titles (boat, motorcycle, RV)
Inventory of Home Contents

INSURANCE DOCUMENTS

Home Insurance Policy
Car Insurance Policy
Life Insurance Policy
MEDICAL DOCUMENTS

Health Insurance Cards
Medical Records
List of RX Medications

LEGAL DOCUMENTS

Wills
Medical Directives
Powers of Attorney
Business Documents

DON’T FORGET
Phone Numbers (lots of people don’t know these anymore)
Cash (small denominations)
Complete List of Passwords & Logins

Richard Kline said:
Confidence is Preparation.
Everything else is beyond your control.

Emergency Preparedness brings peace of mind.
Build your Emergency Kits.
Make your Emergency Plans.
Everything else is beyond our control.


The following websites have loads of information about disaster preparedness:




Ready.gov (a part of FEMA)




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