Census Workers Arriving - Police Urge Residents To Be Wary Of Potential Scams

Pete DeLea
March 8, 2010

HARRISONBURG - In the next few months, Shenandoah Valley residents might see a few unfamiliar faces roaming neighborhood streets.

Many are likely to be census workers following up with residents who did not return their surveys for the decennial population count.

In the past, though, scammers and other thieves have shown a penchant for trying to pass themselves off as official-looking government workers. The goal is to win a homeowner's trust in an effort to gain access to their home or personal information.

Because of that risk, police are taking steps to make sure residents know how to tell the difference between an official census taker and someone who might be up to no good.

"We're trying to give people advance notice that people will be in their neighborhoods," said Mary-Hope Vass, spokeswoman for the Harrisonburg Police Department. Vass added that if residents are informed ahead of time they will know what steps to take to verify the census taker is legit.

Police say census workers should have an official identification card. If there are concerns about the legitimacy of a worker, residents can call the U.S. Census Bureau at (704) 936-5330.

The 2010 census survey, entitled "American Community Survey" will be sent to residents through the mail and census takers will only visit homes where occupants haven't returned the questionnaire.

The survey will be sent to an address and not a specific person. It will also ask residents to return the form to a Jeffersonville, Ind., address for processing.

Contact Pete DeLea at 574-6278 or pdelea@dnronline.com