Although 2010 census forms are not due to appear in mailboxes until mid-March, scammers are already using the decennial tradition as a way to separate the elderly from personal information, law enforcement and advocates for seniors warn.
A variety of the new scams are designed to confuse the elderly into believing they are responding to legitimate inquiries from federal workers or the U.S. Census Bureau, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said Monday.
However, the ploys are little more than efforts to acquire information — never asked for on the official census — that could allow thieves to steal identities, empty bank accounts or destroy credit by acquiring cards in someone else’s name.
The first of the scams came to light recently when AARP’s Elderwatch heard seniors were receiving the bogus inquiries. AARP conducts frequent telephone campaigns designed to warn members of potential scams, such as phony letters from the IRS or the Census Bureau.
“We already had one senior say they were filling out the bogus mailer they’d received seeking information,” said Amy Nofziger, director of Colorado AARP’s Elderwatch program.
The Census Bureau asks for basic information and never seeks donations or personal information such as bank accounts, Social Security numbers or credit cards, spokesman Doug Wayland said.
VerificationTo check on census-takers’ credentials, phone the National Processing Center in Tucson.
