Beginning last month and continuing through August, U.S. Census Bureau workers will be a regular presence in Texas neighborhoods. The Census Bureau’s field staff has been dispatched to walk door-to-door collecting information from Texas residents who did not return their census questionnaire and verifying certain census information.

The Census Bureau conducts field operations nationwide on an ongoing basis. The presence of the Bureau’s field representatives in communities may trigger calls to local law enforcement authorities from residents concerned about strangers in their neighborhoods.
Census Bureau employees will be clearly identified with a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag and a confidentiality notice. All legitimate employees can be identified through identification cards issued by the Census Bureau.

The U.S. Dept. of Commerce, which is the cabinet agency that oversees the census, recently distributed information to help local law enforcement authorities identify Census Bureau employees. Resources produced by Commerce include a poster containing sample pictures of employee identification cards, written materials documenting how to verify legitimate census employees, and pamphlets explaining how census data is protected and used by the federal government.

Census workers will visit individual homes up to three times in an effort to record residents’ information. Every time a Census worker comes to the door, they will leave a door hanger containing a telephone number for the residents to call and schedule a visit when the resident is available.

Unfortunately, a few scam artists are attempting to capitalize on confusion over the once-every-ten-years census. Some of these schemes are targeted at Texans’ wallets, while others are attempting to steal identities. Because Census field staff will only ask questions that appear on the official form, it is helpful to remind residents that legitimate Census workers will only ask those 10 questions. Importantly, none of these questions request personal financial information – such as bank or credit card numbers or Social Security numbers.

Texans who think they may have encountered identity thieves posing as census workers should immediately file a report with local law enforcement. Any potential victims can visit the Office of the Attorney General at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov or call (800) 252-8011 for a copy of the Identity Theft Victim’s Kit.

By working together, state and local law enforcement can ensure that our residents safely participate in the 2010 Census.