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. We understand your personal information is sensitive, and go to great lengths to protect the data we collect. Although we cannot stop or warn against all bogus or false collections of data -- here are some tips to help you recognize fraudulent activity or unofficial data collections.
If you are contacted for any of the following reasons -- Do Not Participate. It is NOT the U.S. Census Bureau.
'Phishing' is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, social security numbers, bank account or credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Phishing is typically carried out by email and it often directs users to enter sensitive information at a fake web site whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one.
If you believe you have been contacted as part of bogus or fraudulent activity falsely representing the Census Bureau:
You may further verify if a collection activity is legitimate by calling your regional census office regarding mail surveys, and our National Processing Center for phone surveys. Other questions may be answered through our Are You In a Survey? page.