Warning over census scams that could see fraudsters steal thousands
FRAUDSTERS are using the census to target vulnerable Brits to scam them out of thousands of pounds.
ActionFraud and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are among the organisations warning Brits not to fall for the tricksters.
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The census is a national survey carried out every 10 years to gather information about the population to help inform national and local policy.
The questionnaire focuses on topics including religion, education, ethnicity and health.
Brits have a legal obligation to fill it out, with the deadline for responses being yesterday - Sunday March 21.
This will allow people to see the sender's full email address to determine whether it looks genuine.
";[The ONS] will only ever contact you from the noreply@help.census.gov.uk email address," he said.
"If you have received an email or text message requesting your information for the census and it’s from a different email address, we’d urge you to notify Action Fraud using its online reporting service.
"It's important to keep in mind that the ONS will never request your national insurance number, passwords, bank account details, or card numbers.
You should also contact your bank straight away if you believe your personal details have been compromised.
You may be given the option to cancel your card and change your passwords.
Sadly, scammers often take advantage of nationwide situations to trick people out of their money.
In the first two months of the first coronavirus lockdown last year, criminals connect Brits out of almost five millions pounds through scams related to the outbreak.
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Earlier this month, we reported how scammers are targeting the millions of shoppers waiting for a parcel with a new Royal Mail text message con.
Fraudsters are also using bogus NHS emails and texts to make people pay for these vaccines or hand over their bank details, police and health officials have warned.