# Is this a census scam? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 20, 2020, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874 "2020-03-20T06:09:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/21 "2020-03-21T02:33:35Z")
The Census will be sending out 6 mailings to every household, followed by 4 in-person visits by a Census worker, until they reach everyone possible. Obviously, as people fill out their Census form, they will be dropped from future mailings & in-person visits (but no doubt mailings are prepared ahead of time, and it will take time for the notice that you have completed the Census to catch up). The first 2 mailings were planned to arrive about 1 week apart, and were sent to the Postal Service a month ago. Pretty much everyone will get both of those. The third or fourth mailing is an actual paper Census form. If you fill that out on paper and mail it back, I expect that will take even longer to get you recorded as having completed your Census, so you’ll likely get more mailings afterwards. The in-person visits will start May 1st and continue thru May & June. At least, that was the plan. It’s probably going to change now. I know my appointment to get my Census credentials was ‘postponed’ until further notice. They considered doing phone call Census interviews, but worried about how to do that without a bunch or robocall scammers springing up to cheat the public. Possibly they will look further at this now, trying to find an effective way. P.S. I don’t understand the vehemence of people here ‘blaming the government’ for multiple Census mailings. The Census is a really important part of our democracy, and they ought to work hard to do it right. And mailing people is the cheapest way to do it. I must get 2-3 mailings every week trying to sell me on additional credit cards, which I certainly don’t need. Plus all the other junk mail. Even charities that I do support insist on spending money to mail me multiple times. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/22 "2020-03-21T04:39:34Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Eh, the government probably had SDMB post them. 504 Mail Time-out ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/23 "2020-03-21T17:21:18Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I marked “other” and said “unsure.” I put “human.” And I got both a letter and a post card from them. After finishing I got a receipt page with a number on it, that I copied, along with advice I might get future mailing to complete the census and to ignore them. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/24 "2020-03-22T02:12:46Z")
Anybody listing their ancestry as Klingon or Kelvan or Ferengi/Kzin ? ETA: Or Vala or Maia? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/25 "2020-03-22T02:55:03Z")
Apparently the British got so many write-in responses of “Jedi” for a religion census question that they included it as an official option for the next one. Doesn’t mean anything official for “Jedi” as a religion (they don’t get tax breaks or anything), but it does mean that a lot of people wrote it in. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/26 "2020-03-23T14:07:44Z")
> [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](#): > > P.S. I don’t understand the vehemence of people here ‘blaming the government’ for multiple Census mailings. The Census is a really important part of our democracy, and they ought to work hard to do it right. And mailing people is the cheapest way to do it. > > I must get 2-3 mailings every week trying to sell me on additional credit cards, which I certainly don’t need. Plus all the other junk mail. Even charities that I do support insist on spending money to mail me multiple times. +1 And I don’t understand the people, some who posted up thread, putting nonsensical answers such as ‘Klingon’ or ‘Jedi.’ They are undoubtedly the same people of bitch that the government doesn’t work, or doesn’t work for them. It only works for all of us is we all support the government. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/27 "2020-03-23T18:35:51Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > I got the notice and went and filled out the census right away. Now I’m getting another one, but I tossed the first one and don’t know if it’s a duplicate or what. The one I got specifically said that I might get another one soon and it’s ok to disregard as a duplicate. I checked and it had the same alphanumeric code inside, so you only need to do it once. > [@](#): > > Oh well, they’re going to need to redo it after the mess we’re in anyway. Numbers might be very different in a few months. The numbers are always different in a few months. The census is always a somewhat inaccurate snapshot in time, and the interval is constitutionally specified. They’re not going to redo it in a few months. They’re going to redo it in another 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/28 "2020-03-23T18:43:30Z")
> [@spifflog](#): > > And I don’t understand the people, some who posted up thread, putting nonsensical answers such as ‘Klingon’ or ‘Jedi.’ They are undoubtedly the same people of bitch that the government doesn’t work, or doesn’t work for them. It only works for all of us is we all support the government. It’s not clear to me that the government has a valid use for ancestry data that outweighs the danger of them gathering it. Historically, many governments have done very bad things with that sort of information. Some are doing it right now! ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/29 "2020-03-23T19:34:10Z")
Yeah, given that the form required an answer yet gave no guidance in cases where you aren’t sure, I suspect that there will be a lot of garbage data there, _e.g._, people just guessing something because it’s making them put something in. (I put “unknown”.) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/30 "2020-03-23T20:54:13Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > It’s not clear to me that the government has a valid use for ancestry data that outweighs the danger of them gathering it. Historically, many governments have done very bad things with that sort of information. Some are doing it right now! How could the government do anything statistical or analytical regarding race/ethnicity if it has no race/ethnicity data? Or all the other entities, public and private, for-profit and not-for-profit, that use census numbers? :dubious: You can’t say something basic like County X or City Y or Ward Z is a% white, b% black, c% Hispanic, etc. without data. And then you can’t do analyses like determining if counties or cities or neighborhoods of cities that are predominantly black or latino are underfunded in some public service compared to predominantly white counties/cities/neighborhoods. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/31 "2020-03-23T20:54:19Z")
Question: I completed the census, including the information for my family. Can other family members now disregard their letter, or do they still need to go online and respond as well? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/32 "2020-03-23T21:04:48Z")
If you answered for your entire household, then the rest of your household can ignore it. But each separate household in your family – _i.e._, a sister and her husband and children living in another home – has to answer for itself. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/33 "2020-03-23T21:48:07Z")
Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/34 "2020-03-24T13:17:59Z")
Hopefully, you didn’t answer on behalf of any family members not living in your household-- The directions were pretty clear not to do that. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/35 "2020-03-24T15:08:49Z")
No, I answered for members of my household, which is indeed what the questions ask about. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/36 "2020-03-24T15:21:52Z")
The questionnaire specifies “living at this address on April 1”. My mother-in-law, who’s home is with her son in the same area, is staying with us to reduce her COVID exposure (we’re boring, inactive people). She probably will still be with us on April 1. But ours isn’t her “home”, so I left her off our household report, and coordinated with my brother-in-law to be sure to include her on his report. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/37 "2020-03-24T15:45:48Z")
> [@Raza](#): > > The questionnaire specifies “living at this address on April 1”. My mother-in-law, who’s home is with her son in the same area, is staying with us to reduce her COVID exposure (we’re boring, inactive people). She probably will still be with us on April 1. > > But ours isn’t her “home”, so I left her off our household report, and coordinated with my brother-in-law to be sure to include her on his report. That’s the best way to do it, she’s “visiting” you but “living” at her son’s. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/38 "2020-03-24T16:41:34Z")
I _think_ that, under the Census’ standards, she would count as “living with” you. But if you coordinated with your brother-in-law to use the same standard, it works out the same. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/39 "2020-03-24T20:23:25Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > How could the government do anything statistical or analytical regarding race/ethnicity if it has no race/ethnicity data? Or all the other entities, public and private, for-profit and not-for-profit, that use census numbers? :dubious: > > You can’t say something basic like County X or City Y or Ward Z is a% white, b% black, c% Hispanic, etc. without data. And then you can’t do analyses like determining if counties or cities or neighborhoods of cities that are predominantly black or latino are underfunded in some public service compared to predominantly white counties/cities/neighborhoods. I see you disregarded the “that outweighs the danger of them gathering it” part. Do you need a list of the horrific things that governments do and have done with ethnicity data? You can absolutely do the kinds of things you’re talking about by doing some random sampling rather than by establishing a database that correlates names, addresses, and ethnicity data. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874/40 "2020-03-25T17:14:38Z")
Just did mine. It showed my address and I answered yes, hit next and it asked if I would be staying at this address on April 1st, answered yes, but the only button provided was Previous not Next. Apparently the site does not like Edge or Internet Explorer, I tried both. Chrome worked just fine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-census-scam/849874.md?page=1)