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Police urge caution during census push
February 7th, 2010, 7:45 am · 18 Comments · posted by EUGENE W. FIELDS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Even though the Orange Police Department sent a message to residents via e-mail to beware of false census takers, neither the police nor U.S. Census Bureau officials believe there is cause for residents to worry.
Alex Blanco, a spokesman for the Census Bureau office in Santa Ana, said warnings are meant to keep the public aware and informed about possible dangers.
“We need to hope for the best and be prepared for the worst,” Blanco said. “If there are people posing as enumerators (census takers), it makes our job more difficult.”
The e-mail sent to Orange residents via i-Watch, the Police Department’s notification system, gave tips on how to recognize a census employee, as well as safety information.
“We don’t have any reason to believe that anyone would fraudulently say they’re census employees,” said Orange police Sgt. Dan Adams. “It’s a great safety message to get out to residents.”
Among the safety tips: Do not invite anyone you don’t know into your home, and do not give out any personal information, such as Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers.
“If anyone asks for your Social Security numbers, credit card information or bank information, our suggestion is don’t give them the information, close the door and call the police,” Adams said.
Blanco said census forms will be mailed to homes throughout the country on March 15-17.
From May 1 to July 10, Census takers, or enumerators, will visit every household that did not return a census form to administer the form in person.
“An enumerator will knock on the door, identify themselves, share the confidentiality notice and ask 10 questions,” Blanco said.
(To see the 10 questions, click here.)
Blanco said enumerators can be identified by an official U.S. Census Bureau ID badge marked with their name and a bag labeled “U.S. Census Bureau” and will have a confidentiality agreement.
“We never ask for Social Security numbers or any other financial information,” Blanco said. “Our job is to count the entire population of the United States to ensure that your community receives its fair share of government funding for roads and hospitals.”
Scott Mitic, the CEO of identity-theft protection firm Trusted ID, in addition to calling authorities, said that if someone mistakenly gives out information, they should also check their credit.
“Put a fraud alert on your credit reports,” Mitic said. “The message is consistent. The first reaction of a smart consumer is always one to doubt first and ask for verification.”
More posts on OrangeCityWatch.com, a blog about the city of Orange:
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Good job by the Orange cops to send out this safety message!!
As citizens do everything in your power to keep Big Brother from watching you: Ban the Census!
The enumeration is fine and constitutional. It’s all the data mining that comes with the census thats offensive. My self, I complete the enumeration part of the census form and ignore the data mining portion that is used to redistributes wealth.
Still hiring census takers. Paranoid schizos need not apply.
My sentiments exactly.
I am unfamiliar with this word “census.” The govt should rent super bowl ad time to run a commercial so I wont be afraid of it once it happens.
LOL @ Realist! i hear you, my coworker has NO idea what census is too!!! Wow, unbelievable at how many people have never heard of it…
I’ll have refresh my memory of the required content of the census according to the Constitution. I can guarrantee you the questions listed are more than the required. Don’t provide more than you absolutely have to. The extra information gets used for targeted solicitation by marketers, especially the home phone number. This is simply wrong and illegal.
Yes, it would be illegal. That’s why they don’t do it.
I said this before and I’ll say it again. I do not open my door to people I don’t know. I know the census staff is trying to do their job, but until the gov lives in 2010 and updates their archaic system, I won’t participate.
Zoe, All you have to do it fill it out and mail it in.
Then no one will come to your door.
Article 1 of the Constitution says We the people are going to form a government.
Article 2 says we need to count the people so we can decide how many representatives it will take to ….”Represent” each state.
Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.
They don’t ask for your phone number. The information is not transferred to any other agency.
They just need to know how little of your tax money to send to your state and how many Congress holes to allot you.
Please drive thru.
“They don’t ask for your phone number. The information is not transferred to any other agency.”
Question #4 on the 10 question an enumerator will show up at your door and ask?
What is your telephone number?
Sorry. The gov’t gets my phone number annually on my tax return. It hasn’t changed in over 5 years. I’m not comfortable giving it yet again for a census.
Thank you for the accurate information.
Shame on anyone who votes and doesn’t know this.
And I like your reference to Congress in your second-to-last sentence!
The census you get in the mail will be more than 10 questions.
I don’t answer my door to unknown individuals either, so I’ll make sure that I complete the questionnaire with only the information I feel comfortable sharing, or at least answer the 10 questions an enumerator would ask in person. Problem of a stranger coming to the door solved!
For the love of God, please don’t give out your SSN# and signature to any census worker. They don’t need to know that or have you sign to acknowledge the census…
If Carlos’ quote is correct, then all we need to disclose is how many people are residing at the specified address. Period. Why the other 9 questions? Don’t answer them!