2010 Census - FYI be careful of identity scammers!

[SpursFan]

GOOD INFORMATION TO PASS ON TO EVERYBODY THAT YOU KNOW:

2010 Census to Begin

WARNING: 2010 Census Cautions from the Better Business Bureau

Be Cautious About Giving Info to Census Workers by Susan Johnson

With the U.S. Census process beginning, the Better Business Bureau
(BBB) advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft. The first phase of the 2010 U.S. Census is under way as workers have begun verifying the addresses of households across the country. Eventually, more than 140,000 U.S. Census workers will count every person in the United States and will gather information about every person living at each address including name, age, gender, race, and other relevant data.

The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:

** If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don't know into your home.

** Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information.

Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. . Census.

REMEMBER, NO MATTER WHAT THEY ASK, YOU REALLY ONLY NEED TO TELL THEM HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE AT YOUR ADDRESS..

While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range,
YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT YOUR FINANCIAL SITUATION.

The Census Bureau will not ask for Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers, nor will employees solicit donations. Any one asking for that information is NOT with the Census Bureau.


AND REMEMBER, THE CENSUS BUREAU HAS DECIDED NOT TO WORK WITH ACORN ON GATHERING THIS INFORMATION.. No Acorn worker should approach you saying he/she is with the Census Bureau.

Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail, or in person at home. However, the
Census Bureau will not contact you by Email, so be on the lookout for Email scams impersonating the Census.

Never click on a link or open any attachments in an Email that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.

PLEASE SHARE THIS INFO WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

[sarasmelik]

Thanks for the great information!!

[Buonas]

Do you have to anwser them? Can I just advice them to leave my property immediately?

[niceguy]

Census takers will be well identified and will not ask you information that most would be uncomfortable with. All census takers undergo an FBI background check.

The 10 year cenus has worked well since the beginning of our nation, and there are benefits to everyone.

A good citizen will recognize the important reasons for the census and will comply. How do I know this? Several years ago I did a housing census for the census bureau, and probably will work on the census this time as well. Good pay for 2 or 3 months of work. By the way they are still looking for more applicants

What happens if I don't fill out my census form?

•
In the United States, the census is officially a big deal (see How the Census Works to learn exactly how big a deal it is). Originally, the census was meant to be a way to count everyone so that the members of the House of Representatives could be allocated properly to the states. Every 10 years there would be a count, and states with more people got more members in the House. Over time, the government has gotten significantly more complicated, and today, the federal government allocates money to states for all sorts of programs. Something like $100 billion gets distributed every year, and quite a bit of it is distributed based on population. The census provides the only official head count.
Someone is very likely to notice if you do not fill out and return your form. After April 1 in a census year, all of the responses received by the U.S. Census Bureau will be compared to major lists of U.S. residences. If your response has not been received -- or if you didn't complete all the questions on your form -- someone from the census will contact you for that information. The census is a $6.5 billion dollar project. They can afford to be thorough!
If you refuse to give out the information or you deliberately give inaccurate information, you can be in legal trouble. According to United States Code, Title 13 (Census), Chapter 7 (Offenses and Penalties), SubChapter II, if you're over 18 and refuse to answer all or part of the Census, you can be fined up to $100. If you give false answers, you're subject to a fine of up to $500. If you offer suggestions or information with the "intent to cause inaccurate enumeration of population," you are subject to a fine of up to $1,000, up to a year in prison, or both. Here's the official verbiage:
221. Refusal or neglect to answer questions; false answers
• (a) Whoever, being over eighteen years of age, refuses or willfully neglects, when requested by the Secretary, or by any other authorized officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or agency thereof acting under the instructions of the Secretary or authorized officer, to answer, to the best of his knowledge, any of the questions on any schedule submitted to him in connection with any census or survey provided for by subchapters I, II, IV, and V of chapter 5 of this title, applying to himself or to the family to which he belongs or is related, or to the farm or farms of which he or his family is the occupant, shall be fined not more than $100.
• (b) Whoever, when answering questions described in subsection (a) of this section, and under the conditions or circumstances described in such subsection, willfully gives any answer that is false, shall be fined not more than $500.
• (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no person shall be compelled to disclose information relative to his religious beliefs or to membership in a religious body.
Sec. 222. Giving suggestions or information with intent to cause inaccurate enumeration of population
Whoever, either directly or indirectly, offers or renders to any officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or agency thereof engaged in making an enumeration of population under subchapter II, IV, or V of chapter 5 of this title, any suggestion, advice, information or assistance of any kind, with the intent or purpose of causing an inaccurate enumeration of population to be made, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.



The penalty

for a census taker to reveal any of your information is very severe:

About the Privacy of Census Responses
Under federal law, all employees and officials of the Census Bureau are prohibited from sharing a person's personal information with anyone else, including welfare agencies, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Internal Revenue Service, courts, police and the military. Violation of this law carries penalties of $5,000 in fines and up to five years in prison. Millions of questionnaires were processed in the 1990 census without a single reported breach of trust.

Lots of information by Google or the cenus bureau website if you want to know more. In general only those that don't return the mailed form will be contacted in person.

[GneissGuy]

Some sources say you may be fined $100 per question if you don't answer.

There is a 50 question per person "American Community Survey" questionnaire that some percent of the population will receive. The ACS may be sent at any time, not just at the every 10 year census time.

Date of birth, gender, race, type of home, year built, when you moved in, rooms, bedrooms, acres, water, toilets, shower, stove, refrigerator, telephone service, automobiles, heating fuel type, business at the location, electric bill, cost of gas, water, sewer, food stamps, condominium fees, owned, mortgaged, rented, rent, real estate taxes, home value, cost of insurance, mortgage payments, second mortgage and amount, citizenship, year of immigration, college student, grade level, highest degree earned, type of degree, race, languages spoken, previous address, type of health insurance, deaf, blind, mental and physical handicaps, difficulty dressing or bathing, mental condition, marital status, number of marriages, date of marriage, children, caring for grandchildren, military status, VA disabled, employment status, where you worked, type of transportation to work, number of people in your carpool, When you leave for work, drive time, are you looking for work, last time you worked, how much time during the year you worked, type of employer, information on your employer, details on type of work, wages, commissions, tips, self employment income, interest, retirement income, welfare income, disability pay, total income. Fill all that out for up to 5 people in your household.

Does that sound unobtrusive?

Does that sound like a valid use of the power to count the population every 10 years as authorized by the constitution?

The "regular" census questions include number of people, owned, mortgaged, rent, telephone number, sex, DOB, hispanic, race, do you live somewhere else some of the time.