Green Bay woman targeted in census-related scheme, one of many scams flourishing in the Fox Valley

At first, Karina O'Malley believed that the recent telephone survey about the 2020 census was legitimate. But that changed dramatically as the interview wore on.

When the caller asked for her Social Security number, O'Malley, a Green Bay resident, complied. But she immediately regretted it.

"My first mistake was giving her my Social Security number before asking her for her credentials," she said. "I called the Census Bureau to ask about the nature of questions on the form and was told they never ask about your Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers – anything about political party preferences, or ask for money or donations."

O'Malley checks her bank accounts frequently to make sure her Social Security information isn't being used fraudulently. So far, so good. But she remains leery.

There are legitimate surveys related to the census. But while authorized callers ask for details about jobs, household amenities and income, they're prohibited from venturing into personal finances.

"I admit it took me an hour of being asked increasingly personal and detailed questions about my household and finances before my patience wore out and I began asking questions about her credentials," O'Malley said.

The conversation was then terminated. 

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"They say they're from the census, but that doesn't (necessarily) mean they're from the census," she said.

Lisa Schiller, director of Investigations and Media Relations for the  Better Business Bureau Serving Wisconsin, said the agency hasn't received a flood of reports about census-related scams.

"However, it would not surprise us (that it's happening)," she said. "We know that scammers follow the news and use current events – such as the U.S. Census, which is taking place this year – in order to capitalize on it for their own personal gain.

"The fact that the U.S. Census page has information about possible related scams and warnings tells all of us that scams are already taking place using their name/s and information."

Census-related scam reports may not be widespread, but there are numerous reports of other scams in the Fox Valley, ranging from fake unemployment claims to an assortment of financial rip-offs.

Here are some examples:

• A woman told Menasha police that she paid money to an individual to rent a cabin up north. After the money was transferred, she was unable to contact the person who took the rental fee.
• A Fox Crossing woman found a cabin for rent online and sent $750 through an app to pay for it. The person renting the cabin asked for an additional $300 to fix a broken pipe at the cabin. When the woman asked for a refund, she never received it. 
• Police were informed that a Neenah-area resident was trying to return an online purchase and was instructed to buy $200 worth of gift cards and send a picture of the card numbers and PINs to an unknown person. The resident also gave the anonymous person remote access to the family's computer.
• A man from Fox Crossing tried to purchase morphine pills online without a prescription. He didn't receive the pills, and the company demanded more money. The man sent more money via a cash app because he was concerned the online company would report him to the police. An officer told the man to stop sending money and to stop buying drugs through untrustworthy online websites.
• A citizen told police that someone used his personal information to apply for a $15,000 loan.
• A Fox Cities resident reported that he was contacted by the state Department of Workforce Development that someone used his information to file for unemployment.
• A man reported that someone used his identity to obtain unemployment benefits from Arkansas. He also contacted officials in Arkansas and canceled the illegal transaction.

Andy Thompson can be reached at 920-996-7270 or awthompson@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Thompson_AW.

Fighting back

The Better Business Bureau of Wisconsin urges consumers to report scams to our BBB Scam Tracker page: https://www.bbb.org/scamtracker