Question: I received a survey, supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau, that, among many other questions, asked my work address and wages and also asked about family members living in the same household, wanting to know their work address and wages. I’m not sure if this is a scam or a legitimate survey.
Answer: In a follow-up phone call, we could verify that the questionnaire you received is legitimate — it is the American Community Survey — because the return envelope that came with it is correctly addressed to:
Director,
U.S. Census Bureau
P.O. Box 5240
Jeffersonville, IN
47199-5240
When it comes to mail or email, verifying the return or reply address is one way to determine whether purported contact from a government agency is legitimate or an attempted impersonation scam.
In this case, we verified the return address by looking up the ACS on the U.S. Census website, at census.gov/acs. Calling the ACS helpline at 1-800-354-7271 also would work.
The ACS is an ongoing survey that samples a segment of the U.S. population to provide data that influences the disbursement of more than $675 billion in federal and state funds each year, according to the Census Bureau.
About 3.5 million households are asked to participate each year; the same household should not be contacted more than once every five years. To be clear, “once” means the initial contact, plus follow-ups to encourage you to complete the survey.
The questionnaire is extensive, with questions about employment, income, housing, education, fertility, military service and other topics. Policymakers and entrepreneurs use the information to assess projects and programs and to plan for new ones, among many other uses.
As for the questions that raised your suspicion, the Census Bureau explains on its website why each is included. Here is a summary:
>> No. 31, which asks a respondent’s workplace address, is the first in a series of five questions about a person’s journey to work; responses to the series are used to create a profile of a city’s commuting patterns. Local, state and federal agencies use the information for transportation and infrastructure planning. The data from this series of questions show up collectively in reports of a city’s average commute time, the number of workers who use public transportation, and the number who work from home, to name just three examples.
>> No. 42 asks for a six-part description of the respondent’s employment. Responses are used to create a profile of the nation’s labor pool, and provide communities information to ensure equal opportunity, plan workforce development programs and promote business opportunities, among many other possibilities.
>> No. 43 asks the respondent’s income during the past 12 months, from all sources. Agencies at all levels of government use income data to plan and fund programs designed to help needy populations. This data often is used in funding formulas that determine the distribution of food, health care, job training, housing and other assistance.
Mahalo
Last Saturday at 9 p.m., my brother couldn’t get his car started at Aina Haina Shopping Center. Folks offered to jump-start the car, but the problem was not the battery but the starter. In the dark, he started pushing the car to the nearby gas station when a man and a woman came running over from different directions to help push. It was a relief to get the car parked in the right place and get home, where my kids were waiting by themselves. Mahalo to all the kind people who helped us. Next time we’ll be the ones to run to offer help! — A reader
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
