A census scam in our midst

A census worker wears a name badge that is clearly identified as US Census, carries a cellphone labeled as US Census and a black shoulder bag saying US Census and hands out an information paper labeled US Census. Do not give personal information to anyone who does not have all this personal census ID with her/him.

Someone has been impersonating a census worker in Carbondale to get private information. This person has targeted Hispanic people, told them she was a census worker, asked many personal questions including if the Hispanic person here legally, and entered this info into a computer. So these targeted individuals think they have filled out the census and they have not. They have given their information to someone with no right to have it.

This is under investigation. If anyone comes to your door saying he/she is a census worker and does not have ID do not speak with them, call the police. That person is impersonating a person representing an official branch of the U.S. government. The census is the way we know how many people live here and determines our representation in congress, and how much federal tax dollars we get for schools, hospitals, roads and other government services. We all need to be counted, not framed.

Illene Pevec

Carbondale