Avon
and Somerset Constabulary
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latest
news
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Police
are warning
people to beware of bogus callers posing as census collectors.
The census is a count of the population in the UK. It takes place every
10
years and this time is happening on March 27. It involves every
householder in
the country filling out a questionnaire on the same day to give a
complete
picture of the nation.
The job of census field staff is to speak to householders who have not
filled
in their forms, so it is unlikely that they will call on people before
April 6,
once all returned forms are processed.
Although there have been no cases of this kind in Avon and Somerset,
the advice
follows a recent complaint to Trading Standards in Leicestershire
another part
of the country about a bogus caller, trying to enter someone's house by
posing
as a census official.
PC Andy Williams, who works on the forcewide team that tackles
distraction
burglary, said: "In our experience, fraudsters will take advantage of
any
situation to con people or to access homes to steal, and the
opportunity presented
by the census is no exception.
"We are urging people to only answer the questions in the census form.
"They should not disclose credit card or bank details and not pay any
money to anyone claiming to be from the census.
"Remember if you are not sure, don't open the door."
A spokesperson for the Office for National Statistics, which is
carrying out
the census, said: "Residents who return their completed questionnaires
promptly are unlikely to be contacted by the census field staff, and
all census
staff will produce an ID card with a photo and logo.
"They may ask for name and number of residents, but they will not ask
for
specific details, like credit card details and bank account numbers.
"If you're unsure about a caller, close the door and ring the census
helpline on 0300 0201 101, to verify whether it is a genuine census
call.
"If you do think you've had a bogus call, ring the Police. If you find
that you are a victim of a bogus caller, ring Consumer Direct on 0845
404
0506."