A man posing as a Census worker and two others are blamed for a deadly home invasion robbery in Houston.
Police said, over the weekend, Reginald Haynes was killed after he struggled with the suspects and was stabbed.
While this incident is unfortunate, Census workers know new like that will make their job that much harder.
But, they still have a job to do and want to make sure something like that does not stop people from opening the door.
"It's definitely a cause for concern,” said Census Spokesman Efren Salinas. “It is a concern not only for the people that are opening the door, but also for us as a government entity trying to conduct this operation."
Salinas said, without getting too much into what happened in Houston, he can say there were ‘red flags’ to being with…."One of the standout things is that the census imposter asked to go into the home," said Salinas.
Salinas said census workers are taught never to ask that question.
"They're taught not to go into your home," said Salinas.
To protect you against census imposters here are few tips to remember….
- The census taker will always have a badge and carry around an official census bag
- They will have a census form with them
- They will only ask how many people live in the home
- Date of birth
- If someone else lives there and so on
They will never ask about legal status, personal information, money, or to come into your home.
"Those are the red flags...if you here those then you know that is someone you shouldn't open the door too."
Remember, if you are unsure about the person standing at your front door, simply call the police or ask the person to come back later.
Census workers should be out and about until the middle of July.
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