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Be Cautious About Giving Information to Census Workers

Thanks to Ron Kalmin for passing this information along.
 

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, gathering information about every person living at each address, including name, age, gender, race, and other relevant data.

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 big question is — how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist?

The 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, and employees will NOT solicit donations.
   
• Eventually, Census workers may contact you at home by telephone, mail, or in person. However, the Census Bureau will NOT contact you by email or the Internet, so be on the lookout for email scams impersonating the Census.
   
  However, you may be contacted via email regarding your participation in a survey (click on link to read about that).
   
• 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://centralflorida.bbb.org/ and http://centralflorida.bbb.org/article/bbb-cautions-about-census-scams-12940.

Click on To report phishing, email scams and bogus Census web sites if you receive an email or find a website that you suspect is falsely representing the U.S. Census Bureau.