Census Safety

Census Safety

Beware fraudulent census takers and fake forms given out to steal vital information.

 

By Brian W. Carter
Sentinel Staff Writer

The Census began this month and already people across the nation are participating in the process of being counted. There is another fact about the census that people need to be aware of: census frauds.

Unfortunately, there are people going around pretending to be census takers and trying to get vital information from you. Potential identity stealers are sending fake forms to homes, like real census takers, looking to take advantage of willing participants.

Here are some tips to help you weed out the frauds:

Â¥ If you receive a census form asking for financial information, passwords and social security numbers, it is a fake.

Â¥You can't take the census online: therefore the census will not contact you through email and don't give personal information to any website claiming to be a part of the census.

Â¥Don't give vital information (social security, passwords, etc.) to census takers when answering questionnaire.

Â¥Census takers carry a badge, a second ID picture, a handheld device and a Census Bureau canvas bag. Ask to see badge before anything.

Â¥Census takers will not ask to enter your home. Do not let census takers enter your home.

Â¥Census takers do not ask for money. Never give money to a census taker.

A sample of the official questionnaire can be found at http://2010.census.gov/2010census/. If a form does not look exactly like the one presented by the website, it's a scam. If you think you are a victim of census fraud, contact http://www.census.gov/regions/. For additional information you can contact the Census Processing Center at http://www.census.gov/npc/contactus.html.

 

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