Wednesday, May 27, 2009

How to Identify a Census Field Representative


I hate being scammed and taken advantage of and in these days, it's even more important to be on guard as to how to protect yourself. My good friend, Maria, forwarded this info to me today. Read it, pass it along and make sure you are aware!

How to Identify a Census Field Representative

If you are visited by someone from the United States Census Bureau, here are some RECOGNITION TIPS to assure the validity of the field representative:

· Must present an ID Badge which contains: photograph of field representative, Department of Commerce watermark, and expiration date.

· Will provide you with supervisor contact information and/or the regional office phone number for verification, if asked.

· Will provide you with a letter from the director of the Census Bureau on U.S. Census Bureau letterhead.

· May be carrying a laptop and/or bag with a Census Bureau logo.”

“Is this person a Census Bureau employee?
If a Census Bureau employee is at your door, he or she will

1. Show you their Census Bureau identification badge,

2. Tell you the name of the survey for which your participation is needed

3. Provide a copy of the notification letter you received or should have received, in the mail describing the survey.

The field representative will also tell you approximately how long the survey will take to complete, why the information you provide is important, and how the Census Bureau protects the confidentiality of your answers.

Depending on the survey, a field representative or enumerator may carry a laptop or hand-held computer bearing the insignia of the Census Bureau. Some of our surveys no longer use paper questionnaires and the field representative will enter your responses directly into the computer. This allows us to process information more quickly and improves the quality of the statistics we produce.

If a Census Bureau employee has called you and you would like to verify that the person calling is indeed a Census Bureau employee you may confirm this by using the telephone center number listed on the Contact the National Processing Center page.”

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2 comments:

TRS said...

That is good information.
The census is so important.
They'll start in April of 2010!!

Lylah Ledner said...

Thanks for commenting...great time to get ready now to be prepared. I think this post has excellent principles to apply to anyone that comes to our front doors. There are so many folks that are all too believing and become so ridiculously & unnecessarily vulnerable to scams.