Quote:
Originally Posted by piece-itpete
This happened to my coworker:
I don’t want to create panic, just to share a bit of my experience lately. Recently I got in the mail a “Census “form. It asked so many questions, starting with SSN all the way to the value of my house, etc. I am a very private person so I was not going to answer all those ridiculous questions. Plus, I thought they were irrelevant to the purpose of the census which is to count all citizens and classify them in demographic groups. So I threw out the forms, kind of mad that the government dares to ask me those questions (they already have all our info, no?). I don’t even give out my SSN to my doctors’ office, and so far no one was able to force me to.
Well, last night I was watching the news and turns out that my forms were FAKE! There are a lot of Census scams out there. I am obviously glad that I did not fall for it, but also now I kick myself for destroying the papers, I would have liked to report the scam somewhere.
Today I got a chance to see a real census form at a coworker and it looks very similar to the fake I received, only fewer questions and the fake is on white paper, while the real form has some blue headings on it. So beware; there are resources online about what questions are asked, etc.
Also:
If someone comes knocking on the door for Census info (they will start knocking no earlier than May if you did not fill in the questionnaire):
· The census taker must present an ID that has a Department of Commerce watermark and expiration date. Ask for a second ID form.
· Don’t let them in the house.
· Ask the census taker for supervisor contact information and/or the local census office phone number for verification.
· A real census taker will not ask you for your Social Security number, bank account number, credit card number or any other personal financial information.
· A real census taker will never ask for donations and will never contact you by e-mail.
If you think that you have received a scam census form by mail, contact your local postal inspector.
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This public service announcement brought to you by the fine folks at etc, etc...
Pete
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Thanks Pete for taking the time to explain. My wife filled ours out and mailed it before I got a chance to see it. I hope it was legitimate.
Being contrary as I am, I can't help but point out that the government turned out to be less intrusive than you thought.
It is now time for Chas to point out that no good deed goes unpunished. (Actually Pete, I think that you have just about the thickest skin around here, so you can take our best shots.
)
Regards,
D-Ray