April 1st Is Census Day

Big Bear Valley, CA – Today, April 1st, is Census Day in a national effort to remind residents to fill out and mail back their 2010 Census forms.  However, after a person misrepresented themselves as a U.S. Census employee in the mountain top community of Crestline last Saturday, the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department would like to alert the public about this individual, or others, misrepresenting themselves as census workers.  Last Saturday, at approximately 1:30pm a white male estimated to be in his 60’s with short gray hair, blue eyes, weighing 150 pounds and 5 foot 5 inches in height had gone to the home of a victim identifing himself as an employee with the US Census Bureau wearing the appropropriate identification cards.  The subject asked the victim personal questions such as her name, date of birth and social security number stating that she was required by Title 12 of the federal law to provide that information.  He then left a bogus census form and questionnaire with the victim which she later confirmed with the Census Bureau was a fictitious document.  Census officials say that their employees do not ask for personal information such as social security numbers, PIN codes, passwords, bank account or credit card information and the census form does not require a signature.  The 2010 census form does, however, ask for your date of birth.  If you think you have been approached by an individual who you believe is not an official Census employee, you should contact the Big Bear Sheriff’s Department at 866-0100 to report the incident and monitor your credit reports for any fraudulent activity.  In a recent news story on KBHR, our local Sheriff’s station suggested that residents request the census taker to show a second form of identification with their name and picture on it in addition to their Census credentials.  They also gave the warning to valley residents to always be careful when supplying personal information to ensure that it is getting to the correct agency for legitimate purposes.  Citizens are encouraged to visit the official web sites of the Census Bureau at www.census.gov or www.2010census.gov for more information.  The 2010 Census is a count of everyone living in the United States and is mandated by the U.S. Constitution. Census data will be used to distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds to tribal, state and local governments each year and to make decisions about what community services to provide. The 2010 Census form is one of the shortest in U.S. history, consisting of 10 questions, taking about 10 minutes to complete.  In addition, in adding to the importance of the 2010 census, Census Day will serve as the point-in-time benchmark for the nation’s population count for the next 10 years.