News 03.15.10

alert From the U. S. Census Bureau regarding Fraudulent Activity and Scams

The Census Bureau uses a workforce of trained federal employees to conduct a variety of household and business surveys by telephone, in-person interviews, through the mail, and in limited cases through the Internet. Your personal information is sensitive, and the Census Bureau goes to great lengths to protect the data they collect. Although they cannot stop or warn against all bogus or false collections of data, be aware that:

• The Census Bureau does NOT conduct the 2010 Census via the Internet
• The Census Bureau does not send emails about participating in the 2010 Census
• The Census Bureau never asks for your full social security number
• The Census Bureau never asks for money or a donation
• The Census Bureau never sends requests on behalf of a political party
• The Census Bureau never requests PIN codes, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts.

How to report scams and bogus Census web sites

If you believe you have been contacted as part of bogus or fraudulent activity falsely representing the Census Bureau:

In Person Scam

• Check for a valid Census ID badge
• Ask for a SECOND form of ID
• Census workers should NEVER ask to enter your home
• Call your regional office to verify you are in a survey: 877-471-5432

Email Scams

• If you think it is a bogus email, do not reply or click on any links within the email.
• Do not open any attachments. Attachments may contain code that could infect your computer.
• Forward the email or web site URL to the Census Bureau at ITSO.Fraud.Reporting@census.gov
• After you forward the email to the Census Bureau, delete the message. You will not receive a confirmation email after forwarding the information, however the Census Bureau will investigate the information and notify you of its findings.

Mail Scams

Contact the United States Postal Inspection Service 877-876-2455

Is your survey legitimate?

You may further verify if a collection activity is legitimate by calling your regional census office, 877-471-5432 regarding mail surveys, and the National Processing Center, 800-642-0469 regarding phone surveys.

Other questions may be answered through the “Are You In a Survey?” page: http://www.census.gov/survey_participants

More News >