Amador County – Several Amador County residents have reported suspicious activities perpetrated by individuals claiming to be employees of the U.S. Census Bureau. In a series of emails distributed county-wide last week, several residents commented on their personal experiences dealing with these suspicious contacts. Pine Grove residents Mike and Bonnie Evans said they received “several phone calls” from a person claiming to be an employee of the Census Bureau who said he was “auditing the response.” They said the phone calls “felt suspicious” and the man threatened to make a note that they weren’t willing to cooperate. “We had enough self confidence to refuse the phone interviews but are concerned about elderly residents who may feel intimidated or bullied into responding with personal information,” they said. Another concerned citizen, Lynette Lipp, said a man had spoken to her while she was home alone and asked her information about a house across the street. She said she was concerned because the man came to her door when she was “the only one home at that time of the 8 homes very close to that particular house.” An Ione woman who asked to remain anonymous told TSPN that she received several phone calls two weeks previous from a man who “spoke poor English” and asked for personal information including her address and phone number. She said she asked questions about the man’s work location and credentials before he put her on hold and then eventually hung up. “I used my gut instinct and decided that this was someone I don’t think they’d ever put on the phone to call people for verifications,” she said. Sonny Le (LEE), Regional Media Specialist for the Census, confirmed that they are currently in the process of gathering information pertaining to statistical surveys, but warned that “they are literally finished with verifications for 2010 Census operations in Amador County.” Local Census operations are based in Placerville. Le said the census continues throughout the decade to gather information for government surveys pertaining to everything from commute time to small business income. “This is what we’ve been doing since 1790,” he said. Le said an official Census worker will have a badge with their picture and identification number, as well as the ability to recite a confidentiality disclaimer. He said Census workers are trained to stay put if someone they speak with decides to call law enforcement, while impersonators will likely run away. “Our workers go through four days of training in order to remember and recite all the information necessary to verify their identity,” he said. He encourages residents to contact the Census if they have more questions. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.-
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Amador County – Several Amador County residents have reported suspicious activities perpetrated by individuals claiming to be employees of the U.S. Census Bureau. In a series of emails distributed county-wide last week, several residents commented on their personal experiences dealing with these suspicious contacts. Pine Grove residents Mike and Bonnie Evans said they received “several phone calls” from a person claiming to be an employee of the Census Bureau who said he was “auditing the response.” They said the phone calls “felt suspicious” and the man threatened to make a note that they weren’t willing to cooperate. “We had enough self confidence to refuse the phone interviews but are concerned about elderly residents who may feel intimidated or bullied into responding with personal information,” they said. Another concerned citizen, Lynette Lipp, said a man had spoken to her while she was home alone and asked her information about a house across the street. She said she was concerned because the man came to her door when she was “the only one home at that time of the 8 homes very close to that particular house.” An Ione woman who asked to remain anonymous told TSPN that she received several phone calls two weeks previous from a man who “spoke poor English” and asked for personal information including her address and phone number. She said she asked questions about the man’s work location and credentials before he put her on hold and then eventually hung up. “I used my gut instinct and decided that this was someone I don’t think they’d ever put on the phone to call people for verifications,” she said. Sonny Le (LEE), Regional Media Specialist for the Census, confirmed that they are currently in the process of gathering information pertaining to statistical surveys, but warned that “they are literally finished with verifications for 2010 Census operations in Amador County.” Local Census operations are based in Placerville. Le said the census continues throughout the decade to gather information for government surveys pertaining to everything from commute time to small business income. “This is what we’ve been doing since 1790,” he said. Le said an official Census worker will have a badge with their picture and identification number, as well as the ability to recite a confidentiality disclaimer. He said Census workers are trained to stay put if someone they speak with decides to call law enforcement, while impersonators will likely run away. “Our workers go through four days of training in order to remember and recite all the information necessary to verify their identity,” he said. He encourages residents to contact the Census if they have more questions. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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