As the 2010 census process begins, the Census Bureau is canvassing the country and administering surveys by phone, mail, and personal interviews. Census Bureau employees are gathering important census information from citizens. At the same time, identity thieves posing as Census Bureau workers are conducting numerous census scams. Since all U.S. citizens are required to participate in the census, its easier than ever for identity thieves to take advantage of unsuspecting people with census scams.
But you dont have to be a victim! By knowing what information youll be asked to provideand what you wont be asked to provideyou can protect yourself from census scams and identity theft.
How Do I Know Its Really a Census Worker?
The first step in avoiding census scams is being able to identify a census worker. All census workers have a badge, a confidentiality notice, and a Census Bureau canvas bag. If a real census worker is at your door, he or she will:
Show you their Census Bureau identification badge
Tell you the name of the survey
Explain how long the survey will take to complete
Tell you how the Census Bureau safeguards the information you provide
If you have any doubt that the person is a census worker, call 866.226.2864 to verify their identity.
Spotting Census Scams:
There are only ten questions on the 2010 census (http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/interactive-form.php), making it one of the shortest census questionnaires in history. Census workers will only ask you for basic information such as name, gender, age, and race. This information is used to determine how to distribute approximately $400 billion to communities for schools, healthcare, and other services. The census data is also used to determine Congressional seats and redraw local political district lines.
Census workers will not ask for your:
Social Security number
Bank account information
Credit card numbers
PIN codes or passwords
Donations
If you get asked for any of this personal information, the person is a scammer trying to steal your identity.
Common census scams also involve the Internet and emails. The Census Bureau does not use Web sites to conduct the census and it does not send emails regarding the census. If you receive a suspicious email about the census, dont open any attachments or click on any links in the email. Report the census scam by forwarding the email to the Census Bureau at ITSO.Fraud.Reporting@census.gov.
Protect Yourself From Census Scams and Identity Theft!
Learn more about preventing census scams from the identity theft expert. Call The Identity Advocate at 310.831.4400 or email info@theidentityadvocate.com. Visit The Identity Advocate online at
www.theidentityadvocate.com.
