If a U.S. Census Bureau employee knocks on your door, the Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota offeres some recognition tips to assure the validity of the field representative.
The field representative must present an ID badge that contains: photograph of the field representative, Department of Commerce watermark, and expiration date.
The field representative will provide you with supervisor contact information and/or the regional office phone number for verification, if asked.
The field representative will provide you with a letter from the Census Bureau director on official letterhead.
The field representative may be carrying a laptop and/or bag with a Census Bureau logo.
When
From April to July, census workers will knock on the door of every household that does not mail back a completed 2010 Census form.
The census needs your help — it’s critical that you take just 10 minutes to fill out and mail back your form rather than wait for a census worker to show up on your doorstep. About $85 million in taxpayer dollars are saved for every one percent increase in mail response.
The Census Bureau must get a census form to — and a completed form back from — every residence in the United States. That’s more than 130 million addresses. This is why the census is the largest domestic mobilization our nation undertakes.
What’s not asked
Field representatives will never ask you for your social security number, bank account number, or credit card number. Census workers also never solicit for donations and will never contact you by e-mail.
It’s safe
The census will ask for name, gender, age, race, ethnicity, relationship, and whether you own or rent your homer.
Your answers are protected by law and are not shared with anyone.
The Census Bureau safeguards all census responses to the highest security standards available.
Contact the BBB at www.thefirstbbb.org or 651-699-1111, toll-free at 1-800-646-6222.
