If you don’t respond to the invitation letter, you will receive several follow-up postcard reminders from the Census Bureau by mail. If you still don’t respond by late April, a census worker will come to your door to collect your response in person. A census worker will only ask you questions that appear on the questionnaire. they will not ask for sensitive personal information such as your Social Security number or credit card number. If someone visits your home to collect your response to the Census, make sure you verify their identity. A legitimate census taker must present a field badge that includes a photograph of themselves.If you have questions about their identity, you can call 800-923-8282 to speak with a local Census Bureau representative. If it is determined that the visitor who came to your door does not work for the Census Bureau, contact the Police Department.
The Census Bureau will not send you an unsolicited email to request your participation in the 2020 Census. Ignore any emails you get that may direct you to a census website as it is likely fake and may be infected with malware. Don’t reply to the email or open any attachment as they could contain viruses that could infect your computer. Forward the email or website address to the Census Bureau at rumers@census.gov. Then delete the message. While census participation is very important and required by law, you also need to be vigilant to protect yourself from census linked scams.