Census Scams

It is 2010 and the Census Bureau is sending out a census form for American citizens to fill out and return. This information is required by the Census Bureau so they might be aware of the number of citizens living in households across the United States. These answers are important because they determine everything from how many representatives each state has in the U.S. Congress to how much funding local neighborhoods receive for their local needs. And the Census Bureau assures citizens that our answers are purely confidential. The real census form is a short form this year and takes about ten minutes to fill out. The census form ask for name, sex, age, date of birth, race, ethnicity, relationship to head of household and housing tenure. And a self addressed envelope is included. So, filling out the census form and returning it to the Census Bureau should be quite easy. Unfortunately, there are scam artist using this opportunity to steal personal information from citizens by using a clever con to make citizens think they are connected with the United States Census Bureau. Here are some of the most prevalent census scams!

Census Email Scams - Quite a few people have reportedly received official looking Census forms via email. These forms request personal information, along with social security numbers, date of birth, they might even request credit card numbers. The United States Census Bureau warns that they are not contacting citizens by email. And that those emails are fraudulent.

Census Telephone Scams - Another prevalent scam is calling up victims and stating that they are the Census Bureau. The caller ask for personal information that is not required by the census bureau. The Census Bureau does not call asking for social security numbers, credit card numbers. Never provide such information. Check your caller I.D. to ascertain if this is a call from the Census Bureau. The bureau states they may call citizens if there is information on the received census forms that they do not understand or that has been left out.

Census Fake Mail - Make sure the mail that is received is from the Census Bureau. Check for official return address to the U.S. Department of Commerce. And the Envelope should state in bold letters it is the United States Census 2010. The form inside should be brief and does not require any personal financial data.

Census Workers. Watch out for scam artist showing up at your door stating they are Census workers. American citizens have the right to ask for standard identification from Census Bureau Officials. So, do ask for identification to verify their identity. And remember you do not have to let them in your home. Questions can be easily answered from the door. The Census Bureau states that their employees might visit the home only if the census form is not returned.

Sources/Links

2010 Census Answers