Hi. Yeah, I love answering your questions every week, especially when I get to see you guys. This one comes from our loyal viewer, Patty. Take it away. I received this letter in the mail telling me that I had been randomly selected by the US Census Bureau to participate in the American Community Survey. It seems *** bit suspicious to me. Can you tell me? Is it real great question? Thanks for it, Patty and thanks for sending us *** copy of the letter. Uh We can tell you it is real and here's how we know we checked the link in that letter. Respond.census.gov/a CS is *** legitimate government web address and the phone number at the bottom of the letter. This one right here. OK. It's an actual number for the US Census Bureau. So what is the American Community survey? It's conducted by the US Census Bureau every year to better understand local communities information from the survey. It's used to determine how trillions of dollars in federal funds are actually distributed each year. So it's important that you fill it out. Not to mention like the letter says you are legally required to participate. They cite some legalese at the bottom of the letter allows them to put some penalties on you. If you don't, we looked into it and you could be fined up to $5000 for not participating. Now, look, it's high. You're not, you're probably not going to jail over this. Right. It's highly unlikely it would escalate to even *** fine, more realistically, they're just gonna keep bothering you and bothering you until you actually fill it out. They could send more letters, call you even send someone to come knock on your door. So just save yourself the headache. And it also helps your local community and you to go out and fill it out online. But as always, there can be scammers out there. So double check that the link on the letter, the web address for the real American community survey are the same. We are posting the real information on my website to make this nice and easy for you Rawson reports.com. So you can cross reference it and just click it in from there. Use the link we post that way, you know, you're safe patty. We hope it helps if you at home have any questions for me. As always email me at Rawson responds at hurst.com. We try to answer everything back to you.
Rossen Reports: What is the 'American Community Survey' and is it legit?
Updated: 2:46 PM CDT Aug 16, 2024
Some viewers have received letters claiming they are legally required to participate in the American Community Survey, prompting questions about its legitimacy.We can confirm that the American Community Survey is real. It is conducted annually by the U.S. Census Bureau to gather data that helps determine the distribution of trillions of dollars in federal funds.Recipients are legally required to participate, and not doing so could result in a fine of up to $5,000. However, the U.S. Census Bureau will make multiple attempts to contact you – sending additional letters, making phone calls, and even potentially visiting your home if you do not respond.Always verify that the web address in the letter matches the official American Community Survey response website, respond.census.gov/acs, to avoid scams. The U.S. Census Bureau has additional information on verification here, and will never ask for things like your full social security number, banking information, or passwords.Have a question for Jeff Rossen? He’s answering your consumer questions every Friday in the new segment "Rossen Responds." Email your questions to him at RossenResponds@hearst.com. Want bonus content and exclusive deals? Make sure to sign up for our free newsletter at RossenReports.com.
Some viewers have received letters claiming they are legally required to participate in the American Community Survey, prompting questions about its legitimacy.
We can confirm that the American Community Survey is real. It is conducted annually by the U.S. Census Bureau to gather data that helps determine the distribution of trillions of dollars in federal funds.
Recipients are legally required to participate, and not doing so could result in a fine of up to $5,000. However, the U.S. Census Bureau will make multiple attempts to contact you – sending additional letters, making phone calls, and even potentially visiting your home if you do not respond.
Always verify that the web address in the letter matches the official American Community Survey response website, respond.census.gov/acs, to avoid scams. The U.S. Census Bureau has additional information on verification here, and will never ask for things like your full social security number, banking information, or passwords.
Have a question for Jeff Rossen? He’s answering your consumer questions every Friday in the new segment "Rossen Responds." Email your questions to him at RossenResponds@hearst.com. Want bonus content and exclusive deals? Make sure to sign up for our free newsletter at RossenReports.com.