Courtesy of the Better Business Bureau
HYANNIS – The Better Business Bureau is reminding people to be alert of scams centered around the United States Census during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Scams aimed at stealing personal information have been reported in recent weeks.
Texts, emails, direct messages on social media, and other unsolicited messages have been reported by the BBB.
The scam messages state that the U.S. Census needs to be completed in order to receive federal stimulus payments.
Those links should not be clicked on, whether or not the census questionnaire has been finished, as malware can be downloaded onto devices to steal usernames, passwords, and other personal information.
The links may also send residents to a phony website made to look like an official federal web page in order to trick people into giving out their information.
The U.S. Census Bureau will only send out emails if residents signed up to receive them, and they will never ask for personal information via email.
Valid websites for the U.S. Census Bureau, as well as all other government websites within the country almost always end in “.gov” on their address.
More information on the census can be found at 2020census.gov, while additional details about the federal stimulus payments can be found at irs.gov/coronavirus.
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