WARNING: 2010 Census Cautions from the Better Business Bureau by Susan Johnson
Jan 08 2010
Be Cautious About Giving Info to Census Workers
With the U.S. Census process beginning, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft.
The first phase of the 2010 U.S. Census is under way as workers have begun verifying the addresses of households across the country. Eventually, more than 140,000 U.S. Census workers will count every person in the United States and will gather information about every person living at each address including name, age, gender, race, and other relevant data.
The big question is – how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:
** If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don’t know into your home.
** Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information. Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census. While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range, the Census Bureau will not ask for Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers nor will employees solicit donations.
Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail, or in person at home. However, the Census Bureau will not contact you by Email, so be on the lookout for Email scams impersonating the Census.
Never click on a link or open any attachments in an Email that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.
For more advice on avoiding identity theft and fraud, visit:
http://www.bbb.org/us/article/10306
http://www.snopes.com/fraud/identity/census.asp
You have a couple of small errors in your article about avoiding being scammed by phony census enumerators. The Census Bureau is NOT sending people out now to verify addresses — that’s been completed long since. And they won’t be carrying handheld devices; Commerce Secretary Guiterrez in 2008 announced these small portable computers would be used only in address verification because the gadget wasn’t up to the job of collecting the actual census info from tens of millions of households.
And the 2010 Census question list does NOT include any seeking financial information. This comes from an urban legend now wending its way around the country.
The BBB piece is solid, while the Snopes article has a couple of holes, if it is the same one that I read.
Regards,
JD Reed
well well I opened my 2010 census questionaire. I live in the US Virgin Islands, St Thomas. and they specifically ask how much I made last year. I think that is wrong–being that they didn’t ask people any where else in the US. that same question.