Census Scams Are Cropping Up

Every 10 years the U.S. government conducts a census, which is a count of everyone living in this country. Forms are mailed out and if you don’t respond, someone may come to your home to collect information about your household. They want to know about your age, gender, marital status, employment status, etc., and you are required by law to answer the questions.

According to Scambusters.org, scammers are already out in full swing, taking advantage of the opportunity to pose as census-takers. Using this guise, they will try to extract personal information about you so they can sell it to identity thieves.

How do you know if you’re dealing with a census-scammer by mail, phone or in person? They will ask for your Social Security number and personal financial information like bank account numbers and credit card numbers. The official census takers do not ask for this. The scammers might ask you for money, or say that you owe money.

The official Census does not collect data on-line through links, so don’t fall for that tactic. And official representatives have government issued IDs, confidentiality notice and use hand-held computers, according to Scambusters.org. To learn more about the 2010 census, go to the U.S.Census Bureau's website.