Protect your identity and documents during a natural disaster
Many homes were damaged during the Aug. 10 derecho event, which traveled 770 miles across Grinnell Mutual’s writing territory. CyberScout®, Grinnell Mutual’s partner in identity theft and data breach services, is temporarily extending its services to friends and family of Grinnell Mutual policyholders.
CyberScout post-Derecho services
- Document replacement services are being offered at no charge through the end of September.
- Services are available to friends and family of Grinnell Mutual home and/or farm liability coverage policyholders.
- CyberScout will assist with identification and the replacement of documents destroyed in the disaster — such as passports, credit cards, driver’s licenses and Social Security or Medicare/Medicaid cards — facilitating contact with financial institutions and other providers.
- In the event of identity theft or fraud, a fraud specialist will also provide resolution services.
- Non-policyholders can simply call CyberScout’s Resolution Center at 877-432-7463 and identify themselves as a friend or family member of Grinnell policyholder who needs service.
- Policyholders, who have these services automatically, should inform their agents if they have documents that were destroyed.
WHAT DOCUMENTS ARE MOST IMPORTANT?
When people leave their homes after a disaster, they frequently overlook key documents and identification, including:
- Birth certificates
- Financial and insurance records
- Medical records
- Passports
- Social Security cards
These items are crucial to protecting your identity. If they are lost, destroyed, or stolen, it will be that much harder to recover from a natural disaster.
WHY FRAUDSTERS TARGET NATURAL DISASTERS
After a disaster, emergency services providers and good Samaritans are often followed by fraudsters looking for money-making opportunities through your personally identifiable information (PII). Criminals may try to obtain your PII by:
- Sifting through debris
- Looting
- Posing as a government official — remember, state and federal officials will never ask you for money or charge an application fee
- Pretending to represent a charity
- Impersonating insurance agents, bank agents, or housing inspectors
Once opportunists get a hold of your PII, they can use it in all kinds of ways:
- Financial account takeover
- Identity theft
- Mortgage scams
- Disaster relief fraud
- Employment identity theft
- Medical identity theft
WHAT TO PROTECT
Identifying what you need to protect is the first step. Make sure you know where the following are recorded and stored:
- Social Security Number (SSN), either on your SSN card or other documents
- Account numbers such as bank, insurance, investments, and credit cards
- Government-issued identification such as a driver’s license, passport, and birth certificate
- Contact information such as your email address, physical address, and telephone and mobile numbers
- Your date and place of birth
- Passwords and PINs for online information
- Verification data such as your mother's maiden name, the street you grew up on, pets’ and kids’ names, and high school
- Medical records, prescriptions, and images
HOW TO PREPARE
Preparing for a natural disaster can help shorten your recovery period. You should:
- Know the risks in your area. Be aware of the types of natural disasters that are most likely to happen and plan accordingly.
- Use the Cloud. Store front-and-back scans of estate documents, photos, and other irreplaceable items in a password-protected online vault.
- Get a safety-deposit box. Use it to store copies of family members’ IDs and important personal documents(banking, medical, insurance, legal).
- Prepare to grab and go. Purchase a waterproof box or folder that can hold all your family’s key documents and IDs.
- Cancel your mail delivery before you leave home. Unattended mail is a jackpot for fraudsters.
AFTER A DISASTER
If the worst does happen, know what to do to help protect your identity.
- Trust your instincts. If someone asking for your PII seems suspicious, ask them for photo ID, and call their places of business to verify employment.
- The Consumer Financial Bureau recommends freezing your credit, which makes it harder for scammers to open accounts in your name. You may also want to put a fraud alert on your credit record.
- Contact your insurance company, bank, creditors, and other trusted companies to learn about what to expect during the recovery process. Update them with a temporary address if possible.
- Monitor your credit report, medical bills, and explanations of benefits for any suspicious activity.
Learn about CyberScout
Article adapted from CyberScout materials. Sources: “Data Visualization: Disaster Declarations for States and Counties,” FEMA, 2018, https://www.fema.gov/data-visualization-disaster-declarations-states-and-counties. “Decade of Disaster: A Timeline of $1bn Extreme Weather Damage in the U.S.,” The Guardian, 2017. Megadisasters devastated America in 2017. And they’re only going to get worse. Vox, 2018. Data Visualization: Disaster Declarations for States and Counties, FEMA, 2018.