Guard Social Security info; reject password, PIN code or money requests
Nashville – With the U.S. Census under way, the Division of Consumer Affairs wants to remind Tennesseans that scam artists often use the guise of government-related programs to steal from the unwitting. “Government-benefits fraud is more prevalent than credit card fraud,” says Consumer Affairs Director Mary Clement. “We don’t want Tennesseans to fall prey to identity theft or worse.”
Be on the Alert!
- The Census Bureau does NOT conduct the 2010 Census via the Internet
- The Census Bureau does not send e-mails about participating in the 2010 Census
- The Census Bureau never:
- Asks for your full Social Security number
- Asks for money or a donation
- Sends requests on behalf of a political party
- Requests PIN codes, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts.
How to report scams and bogus Census web sites
Report it, If you believe you have been contacted as part of bogus or fraudulent activity falsely representing the Census Bureau:
- In-Person Scam
- Check for a valid Census ID badge
- Call your regional office (www.census.gov/regions/) to verify you are in a survey
- E-mail Scams
- If you think it is a bogus e-mail, do not reply or click on any links within the e-mail.
- Do not open any attachments. Attachments may contain code that could infect your computer
- Forward the e-mail or web site URL to the Census Bureau at ITSO.Fraud.Reporting@census.gov.
- After you forward the e-mail to the Census Bureau, delete the message. You will not receive a confirmation e-mail after forwarding the information. However, the Census Bureau will investigate the information and notify you of its findings.
- Mail Scams
- Contact the United States Postal Inspection Service at https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/investigations/MailFraud/MailFraud.aspx
Fraudulent Activity and Scams
The Census Bureau uses a workforce of trained federal employees to conduct a variety of household and business surveys by telephone, in-person interviews, through the mail and, in limited cases, through the Internet.
The Bureau understands your personal information is sensitive, and goes to great lengths to protect the data they collect. Although the Census Bureau cannot stop or warn against all bogus or false collections of data, they provide some tips to help you recognize fraudulent activity or unofficial data collections.
Is your survey legitimate?
The U.S. Census Bureau distributes the following information on its website.
You may further verify if a collection activity is legitimate by calling your regional Census office regarding mail surveys, and their National Processing Center for phone surveys. Other questions may be answered through the Are You In a Survey? page.
About the Tennessee Consumer Affairs Division
The Tennessee Consumer Affairs Division is part of the larger Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, and works to protect consumers while ensuring fair competition for industries and professionals who do business in Tennessee. www.tn.gov/commerce/
