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© 2010 Security Whip
In times of emergencies it’s very unlikely that you will be able to remember the information you need, let alone find all of your critical data. For this reason its imperative to have all of your important papers in a safe location. Additionally, you need to make copies of all of your data and save it to some type of electronic media. Most people opt for the USB drive, they are small, easy and can hold a lot of data. But what information should you put on it? Below is a list of documents to get you started.
- Birth Certificate
- Marriage License
- Drivers License
- Education Diplomas
- Divorce Papers
- Social Security Cards
- Passport/Green Card
- Naturalization Documents
- Will
- Living Will
- Power of Attorney
- Mortgage or Real Estate Deeds of Trust
- Vehicle Registration
- Tax Returns
- Property Tax Statement
- Personal Property Tax
- Bank Statements
- Credit Card Statements
- Retirement Accounts (401K, TSP, IRA)
- Investment Accounts (Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds)
- Recent Pay Stubs
- W-2’s
- Government Benefits
- Alimony Income
- Child Support Income
- Appraisals of Personal Property
- Rewards Accounts (Frequent Flyer Programs, Hotel Rewards)
- Mortgage Statement
- Lease
- Utility Bills (Electric, Water, Gas)
- Car Payment
- Student Loan
- Alimony Payments
- Child Support Payments
- Property Insurance
- Rental Insurance
- Auto Insurance
- Life Insurance
- Health Insurance ID Card
- Record of Immunizations
- Disabilities Documentation
- Dental Records
- Current Military ID
- Military Discharge DD 214
- Resumes
- List of important phone numbers
- Web browsers book marks
Once you have all of your documents on the USB drive we then need to encrypt the data, which I will discuss in a follow-up article.
Thanks
Security Guy
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Thanks for a very thorough list! I am adding Web browser book marks to mine.
I would add a few more:
* Bank Accounts and contact information
* Pictures of Personal Property by category
* Professional IDs (Company badge, Union card, TWIC card, HSPD-12 card, etc.)
* Club / Organization Membership Ids and contact information
* Copy of SF-85, SF-86, etc.
* Newspaper / Magazine Subscriptions
* Online accounts
* Training Certificates (Professional/trade, HAM Radio, First Aide, etc.)
* Contact Lists / Address Book
* End of Life Decisions (see http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/end_of_life_decisions.htm)
* Advance Medical Directive (AMD) (see http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/Directive.pdf)
* Health Care Proxy (see http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/Proxy.pdf)
Great additions to the list!
Don’t forget certified copies of your DD-214 if you are a veteran; a very valuable document.
Talk about the mother of all Identity Theft payloads !
NEVER EVER store important documents electronically without encrypting them ! Protection is easier than you think. Winzip and the open source program 7zip both (http://www.7-zip.org/) support AES256 encryption within the popular zip format.
This zip file password should be shared with family members with a backup (paper) copy kept in a safe, secure place obviously separate from the electronic media (buried in a sealed hunk of pvc pipe with other junk papers, as a diversion, might be a good option).
The only exception to this encryption rule might be your living will.
I would also add to the list:
– photos taken of the exterior and interior of your house to support any insurance claim.
I keep all of the above, and a heckuva lot more, in a TrueCrypt-encrypted virtual drive file on a (very) portable flash drive.
The flash drive itself holds:
$RewardIfFound$.txt (Contact Info)
neos-safekeys-2008-v2_3_0.exe (Keylogger Protection)
TrueCrypt Setup 7.0a.exe (TrueCrypt Install File)
and
Library.tc (Virtual drive file with my documents, eBook library,
and other stuff I *really* do not want to lose in a disaster.)