Warning Out About Scammers Posing as Census Workers

By Dave Jordan, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- U.S. Census workers will begin gathering information about you within the next few weeks. Someone from the bureau is likely to show up on your doorstep and speak with you face to face.

But now scammers are posing as government workers to try to get access to your bank and credit card accounts.

This has become such a problem that the Better Business Bureau put out an alert warning people not to give any information bank or credit card account to anyone claiming to be Census workers.

It's a common sight at the end of every decade, thousands of Census workers descending on neighborhoods gathering information about the community to take back to Washington. But this time, there are others hard at work.

"We've actually had a couple of phone calls and a couple of employees here that have brought us the information that a parent has been given and it seems they are preying on senior citizens," said Sidna Chambers with the U.S Census Bureau.

They are a group of scammers that are posing as Census workers with the goal of getting access to your financial information.

"They'll never ask for a credit card number, your bank institution number, none of that kind of stuff," Chambers said.

What's more, Chambers said that Census workers stand out.

"Every Census employee that's out there should be identified with a federal badge that has their name and their position on the badge and the person in their home needs to be asking for that if it's not visible," said Chambers.

Bob Manista with the Better Business Bureau has received several calls about the scam. Some of them are even trying to get your information through electronic inquiries.

"We've seen already some email scams asking for phishing information, looking for bank account numbers and other personal information that nobody should be giving out," said Manista.

It was his office that put out the alert to the public.

"You want to make sure that you're giving that private information to a legitimate Census worker," said Manista.

"There is legitimate stuff going on. The person in the home just needs to be asking for the proper identification," Chambers said.

If the person at your door doesn't have an I.D. with them, you should end the conversation immediately.