Has anyone ever had this happen to them?

Question

A guy with a laptop claiming to be from the census bureau out of the blue knocked on my apartment door one day and started asking me probing questions like where I work, how much money I make, whether I am living alone, what is my highest level of education, my date of birth, nationality, etc, etc. He had a photo ID hanging from his neck and had a business card which you can see on this link

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y26/CBasedLifeform/census.jpg

His laptop had a Census Bureau sticker on it. I thought it was creepy. Don't they do the census every 10 years? Why are they doing it in 2006?

Answer 1

Be careful what you give out even to people who are ligit if you don;t think they need the info. call the police next time you see the guy or have dobuts. they can at least talk or ID the person

Answer 2

I've never had this happen to me, but it would be interesting to see how many people have... & to see whether this could be a new wave of phishing/social engineering/identity theft crap out there. Honestly, I would have to say that you provided a GREAT opportunity for George (Doug) Ayers to learn WAAAAAAAY too much about you if, and I do mean IF, he was not from the US Census Bureau. The Census Bureau does do in-person surveys other than the once-every-ten-years census. If you were involved in a survey, you should have received notification via postal mail about the upcoming visit from the Bureau. Also, any Census Bureau employee arriving at your door is required to provide you with another copy of the notice you should have received in the mail. Check the US Census Bureau website & look at the "Are you in a Survey?" page...also, judging by the address on the business card photo, call your regional office @ [phone] or [phone]. After all, it is a Federal offense to pretend to be a US Census Bureau employee or pretend they represent the Bureau. Good Luck! Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Sorry to dissapoint all the conspiracy theorists here, but the Census is busy all the time, doing work exactly as you describe.
THE National census is indeed taken every 10 years. Some of those forms even ask these same questions, they are pages long instead of the typical 1 page Census form. This is where the statistics come from re. # of Hispanics, Whites , homeless, higher income earners, etc. as a representative of the demographics in a given area. The longer forms are considered representative of say 20 households in that area. It helps Government & city agencies to plan for meeting the needs of specific population groups.
For example, the disabled man I interviewed was the voice for disabled transit services, etc that are likely to be needed in his city. Kind of the same way that for every letter our congressmen receive, they believe that there are 50 other people who feel the same way but just didn't bother to write. When you hear news reports stating that a certain percentage of the population in a specific area falls into a category such as student, 2 income family, increase or decrease in # of married couples , etc. that is where the info. comes from.
When I did the Census of 2000, we were told that the next Census would be entirely done on laptops instead of the heavy Census bags filled with papers that we carried at that time. Some of the Supervisors who did conduct more in-depth interviews already had them at that time. We did have I.D.tags, but no photos on them.We also had letterhead with the number of the local Census office, you should be able to ask for that & then call to verify, even calling 411 to seperately verify that it's legit.Tell them you just need a minute to verify, leave them on the porch & lock the door behind you & go make the call. If it's bogus, phone 911 to report a crime in progress & describe who you left at your doorstep & ask them to come out. I.D. theft is serious crime
The Census probably has an on line site for your question, or better yet, call your local office & ask to speak to the Supervisor for your area to see if they are indeed conducting polls like this where you live.
There were imposters then also, pulling stunts like asking for Social Security #'s (we NEVER would do that), bank account #'s (nor that), asking to come inside (to case the house), etc..
We also never asked to enter anyone's home, but it was OK if they asked us to step in & we felt comfortable doing so.
We were sometimes invited in for a beer or a joint too, this being Santa Cruz Ca., not accepted but not too surprising either!
Hope this helps to set your mind at ease, the goal is for current statistics. It was one of my favorite jobs too, peolpe are endlessly interesting & full of surprises!

Answer 4

They do a census every five years and this is the year one was done. I filed mine over the Internet.If you had doubts refuse to answer until you are satisfied with their credentials. You have a right to be cautious, ask them to return later. I wish people would keep thier answers to at least 50,000 words or less. That one guy just wrote a book report.

Answer 5

Are you retarded? You don't just let anyone with a badge into your home. He could have been a serial killer for all you know. Even if a cop shows up at my door I don't let them in until I call the local station and ask them to check and see if there is a cop at my door , cause they all have to stay in touch with the station. Use your brain next time or some one might just take them out and feed them to you.

Answer 6

You can deny the questioner if you knew that there was no census being made by the government.

Answer 7

There is no census being undertaken at this time. The person you spoke with was an impostor.