(866) 851-2010

They identified themselves as the census bureu... They said they are trying to verify if they entered the census information into the computer correctly that I sent to them by mail. I do not understand why they need to talk to me to see if they entered information correctly, can they not simply look at the census I sent them to tell this!? I did not offer to answer their questions, something just doesn't make sense here.

claims to be a census,gov

Hey. Just got off the phone. I was worried too.
Turns out they just were confirming the answers on the census form I sent in. They are doing this randomly across the board for all respondents.
Best regards.

(whew! what a relief).

It is definitely the Census Bureau:

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/preparing-for-a-census-call.php

This is a legit call. They didn't ask for SSN, bank or credit info. It was mainly 'yes or no' questions about the answers I put on my Census form. Only took 3 minutes and they were very polite.

Looks like this is a scam. The government web site is www.census.gov, while the scammers' web site is www.2010.census.gov

I got this call first on Sunday. Then, I got their number and said I would call back later. Then, I called back. But, it's fax tone. After that, I received 2 more calls from them within a week. One of them was on Saturday. Of course, I didn't pick it up coz I believe it's scam as Government Dept won't work on Saturday and Sunday.

legitimate US Census Bureau call

It is the census bureau. A simple Google search gave me the answer right away. It is a legitimate # that appears on their website: http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/preparing-for-a-census-call.php

I am not sure why everyone is saying that this is a scam. Is the census bureau website now a scam?

I received this call today and were convinced since they already knew what my last name was and ask me who filled out the survey and what was my name..Because my kids were rowdy, I didn't pay any attention because I saw the US Census Bureau on the caller id and think that it could possibly be a scam; so when he said it would take about 10 minutes I told them to call back tomorrow afternoon; did I give them too much information by giving them my name to do anything harmful to my identity

A person called at 8:30pm on mamorial day? A national Holiday? Got to be crap. During the Flyers / Black Hawk Game no less. Must be a Commie

This number is not legitimate. I work for the U.S. Census Bureau, and I have passed on information about these "followup calls" to my superiors in Philadelphia. If the bureau were to follow-up a mailed in census questionnaire, the phone call would come from the respondent's local census office (which is in your county). In other words, the phone number would be the area code, then the number. Legitimate calls do not come from 1-866 numbers. If you live in New York and you get a "Census" call which traces to somewhere in the South or Midwest (like this particular number does) then you have every right to believe the call is a scam.
I found out about this number when I received a message with a "case number" on my home phone number. When I called back, I identified myself as a government employee and asked the purpose of the call. With an obnoxious attitude (real Census enumerators are supposed to be friendly) the woman on the other end of the line explained that I should have heard of "Operation Clarify" and then referred me to a bogus Census website that also I had never heard of. My superiors laughed when I got to this part in the story. She (and her manager) refused to identify themselves (all government employees do this) and also refused to guarantee that my answers would remain confidential and protected by law (another thing that Census enumerators do). Ironic how a Census scam targetted a Census employee.

@Dan: I've been waiting for someone who works at the bureau to get one of these calls and I'm not surprised to read your accounts! So the big question is what do we do about it? Why are they still in business and how do we end these obnoxious calls. (They started calling me daily last ween and I have yet to answer.)


Well, what I recommend you do is ignore such phone calls. You are aware of their intentions, so continue to stay alert. Remember how I mentioned my caller refused to guarantee my privacy? Some other posts on this site have mentioned callers spewing out "random" laws such as Title 13. On a phone interview Census enumerators are supposed to read a confidentiality notice verbatim prior to beginning the interview. Here is an excerpt: "Your answers are confidential and protected by law. All U.S. Census Bureau employees have taken an oath and are subject to a jail term, a fine, or both if they disclose ANY information that could identify you or your household..." etc. I would type the whole thing on here but you never know who might come across it and use it for ill purposes. My advice at this time is that if you continue to receive these phone calls from them on a regular basis, you should contact your local police department and file a report.

Don't know who it is.