INDIANAPOLIS — Have you gotten a text message or an email from the United States Census Bureau to take a survey about COVID-19?
Rhonda emailed 13News and asked us to verify if an email and text message she got, claiming to be from the Census Bureau, is the real thing.
It says: “To support the nation’s recovery we are collecting timely information on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected people’s lives and finances.”
It then asked her to take the Household Pulse Survey.
SOURCES
U.S. Census Bureau and the National Library of Medicine.
WHAT WE FOUND
We can verify that this message is legitimately from the Census Bureau.
On its website, it says data from the survey will show the effects of the pandemic on individuals, families, and communities across the country and “will help federal and state officials direct aid, assistance, and support to the people and places that need it most.”
How did the Census Bureau choose Rhonda, or anyone else?
On its website, the Census Bureau said it randomly chose addresses to represent the entire population.
And they’re required by law to protect your information, saying “the Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release your responses in a way that could identify you.”