Be aware of Census scams

Census scammers may contact you by phone, email, or mail, seeking personal and financial information.

Invitations to respond to the census will be mailed to U.S. households in March. Responses to the census questions may be submitted online, via mail or phone.

No genuine census survey or agent can ask for your money, Social Security, credit card or bank account numbers. They also won’t threaten jail time if you don’t answer their questions. Any of these is a sure sign that a supposed census taker is phishing for ways to steal your identity, money or possessions.

Be especially watchful for impostors this spring, when the Census Bureau will be following up in person at households that don’t respond.

Tips to spot census scams

• A census taker who comes to your home should have a Census Bureau photo ID badge, and a copy of the letter the bureau sent you.

• Check that a census mailing has a return address of Jeffersonville, IN, the National Processing Center.

• Check the web address of any supposed census website. Make sure it has census.gov in the address and look for https:// or a lock symbol in the browser window.

• Don’t give your Social Security number, mother’s maiden name, or bank or credit card numbers to anyone. claiming to be from the Census.

• Don’t reply, click links or open attachments in a suspicious census email. The agency almost always makes contact by mail. Contact the bureau’s National Processing Center or the regional office to verify the validity of census communications.