Fake U.S. Census Calls Freehold Resident

Borough resident Sharon Fanicola thought the phone call she received on a Saturday afternoon was a little odd. 

The woman on the other end of the phone said she was with the U.S. Census Bureau, and that the Fanicola family had been selected from a larger demographic to participate in a survey. The survey would only take an hour of her time.

But Fanicola said she felt uneasy about the whole thing, like something just didn’t add up.

If this really was the U.S. Census Bureau, a federal agency, why were they calling on a weekend? And what census questions could possibly take an hour?

“She's asking for an hour of our time to answer questions and I've never had the Census ask more than just a few minutes,” Fanicola said.

Fanicola asked to speak with a supervisor. After some time, she said, she was given a local phone number for a supervisor. But that didn’t help, either.

Fanicola called the number. Instead of someone answering the phone with the agency name and title, Fanicola said, the person on the other end of the line simply answered “hello?’’

While a spokesperson from the Census Bureau could not be reached Tuesday, the bureau’s website says that surveys - sometimes using the telephone - are conducted continuously, not just once a decade.

But it also says that calls from the U.S. Census Bureau originate from one of its six regional offices. Calls to New Jersey residents are made from the New York regional office. Its phone numbers are: (212) 584-3400 or 1-800-991-2520, the site says.

Anyone who wants to verify that the person calling them is in fact a U.S. Census employee can call one of the three National Processing Center phone numbers:

• Hagerstown, MD:   1-800-392-6975
• Jeffersonville, IN:   1-800-523-3205
• Tucson, AZ:   1-800-642-0469

Borough Police Chief Glenn Roberts said phone scammers can be clever, but that he had not heard about a widespread U.S. Census ruse.

“Never give out personal information to anyone over the phone,’’ said Police Chief Glenn Roberts. “That’s a definite ‘no’.’’

If in doubt, Roberts said, simply hang up the telephone and don’t be bothered with it. Residents who believe they were targets of telephone ID-stealing scams also are encouraged to file a report with police, Roberts said.

Fanicola was able to keep her wits about her and keep her guard up. But, she said she worried about the implications these phone scams represent for some people, like her grandmother, who would be more inclined to give up any information someone asked for.

Roberts this week kicked off a series of informational sessions to combat just this kind of problem. Each of the sessions focuses on telephone scams, handling telemarketers, home and personal safety, identity theft and dealing with contractors.

The following dates have been set:

• 10 a.m. Thursday, May 16 at the Hudson Manor apartments' community room.
• 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 21, at the Monmouth Court apartments' community room.
• 10 a.m. Thursday, May 23, at the Freehold Borough Courtroom, next to the Police station.

“We hope that everyone takes advantage of this opportunity to come some new ways to protect your investments and increase your safety,” Roberts said.