Question: I’ve been seeing all the commercials on TV about how the 2020 Census is coming up and we all should participate, but I was surprised to get a phone call right off the bat. … Right away the person started asking for financial information, so I hung up. Was this a scam? Are you getting other calls about this?
Answer: Yes, it was a scam attempt, and yes, Kokua Line has received similar calls from other readers. Authorities had warned that census-taker impersonation scams were likely to rise ahead of the nationwide decennial count, and it seems that is happening — not only by phone, but also by email (phishing attempts).
The U.S. Census Bureau emphasizes that Census 2020 and its representatives will never ask for:
>> Your Social Security number.
>> Your bank or credit card account numbers.
>> Money or donations.
To answer other readers’ questions, the 2020 Census doesn’t have a citizenship question — you should count everyone living in your household as of April 1 regardless of whether they are a U.S. citizen or not.
Also, the U.S. Census Bureau will not contact you on behalf of any political party.
If someone claiming to be from the Census Bureau contacts you by phone, email or in person seeking any of that information or saying that it is required, it’s a scam — they’re not really from the Census Bureau. Don’t give them information.
If the scam attempt comes in a phone call, hang up. If it’s via email, don’t reply and don’t click on any link in the email; doing so may infect your computer or mobile device with malware.
If someone visits your home, you can verify their identity by asking to see their valid ID badge, which should have their photograph, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark, and an expiration date. If you aren’t sure whether the person is an imposter, you can call the Census Bureau at 800-923-8282 or 301-763-4636 to verify who is working in your area. If it turns out the person is an imposter, the Census Bureau says you should call the police.
Now, to describe legitimate contact from the genuine 2020 Census: For the vast majority of Hawaii households, initial contact will be via U.S. mail, in a letter that will invite the recipient to respond to the 2020 Census online by April 1; the letter will provide a Census ID to plug into a specified website. It also will include a toll-free telephone number for people who need assistance. Households will begin receiving these letters March 12-20, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Households that don’t complete the questionnaire online or by phone within a few weeks will receive a paper copy in the mail. The initial letter will explain this. So although the Census Bureau prefers that people respond online, it also will be possible to complete the questionnaire by mail or by phone. Households that fail to respond by any method can expect a visit from a census taker, although likely not until May or so; if someone visits, you can verify their identity as earlier described.
Numerous readers have called or emailed over the past few months worried that they won’t be counted because they can’t go online or because they speak limited English. That need not be the case. As we explained, households that do not respond online or by phone will later receive a paper form in the mail. The Census Bureau says online and phone responses can be completed in 13 languages (English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Tagalog, Polish, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese and Japanese), so anyone who needs language assistance should call the toll-free number included in the letter due to arrive this month.
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.
