The 2010 U.S. census survey was mailed to all U.S. residents in mid-March, opening the door to con artists who will use the program as an opportunity to swindle people out of their money and their identities.The U.S. Better Business Bureau warns consumers to be on guard for online and in-person census fraudsters in the coming months, spokeswoman Alison Southwick says.

The census questionnaire asks 10 questions. None involves personal financial information such as bank account or credit card numbers, or your Social Security number.

“We are warning people to beware of phishing e-mails that purport to be from the Census Bureau, (as well as) phone calls, knocks on the door and mail, basically all forms of contact where people are asked for financially sensitive information such as their Social Security number or bank account numbers,” Southwick says. Already, there have been reports of people identifying themselves as census takers contacting senior citizens in Chicago and trying to extract their financial ID numbers, says William Kresse, an associate professor and the director of the Center for the Study of Fraud and Corruption at St. Xavier University in Chicago.

“In the past, the fraud has been related to identify theft, gaining access to victims’ bank accounts and credit card accounts,” Kresse says. “Fraudsters try to work off something topical in the news that people don’t fully understand, which makes the 2010 census a prime target.”

Senior citizens are most at risk, Kresse says, because “seniors tend to be lonely and more willing to talk with strangers on the phone than any other group. Many also have access to money they’ve accumulated for retirement, or other assets.”

Here are four ways that scammers may try to deceive you, and what you should do:

1. Phishing fraud

A phishing scam typically uses a phony e-mail to collect your personal or financial information under false pretenses.

In this case, you’ll receive an official-looking e-mail saying you didn’t fill out the census survey correctly and asking for your Social Security number or bank account information or computer user names and passwords, Kresse says.

“E-mail is relatively anonymous, and the dishonest can contact several hundred thousand people simultaneously,” he says.

What you should do: You can’t file online, and no one should receive official e-mails for the 2010 survey. If you do, don’t respond, says Eun Kim, a Census Bureau spokeswoman.

2. Fake census survey

You could receive a fake 2010 census questionnaire in the mail that requests your personal financial information.

What you should do: Visit the U.S. Census Bureau Web site and compare your survey with the official one online. If your survey doesn’t match the 2010 census survey, toss it, Kresse says.

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