HOUSEPRO REALTY, Inc.
Serving all of San Diego County
and select areas of Riverside County

 Social engineering is the act of manipulating people into performing actions or divulging confidential information.    

Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information. Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census. While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information such as a salary range, the Census Bureau will not ask for Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers nor will employees solicit donations. 

Be Cautious About Giving Info to Census Workers 

If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, Census Bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don’t know into your home.  

From the Better Business Bureau 

With the U.S. Census process beginning, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft. The first phase of the 2010 U.S. Census is under way as workers have begun verifying the addresses of households across the country. Eventually, more than 140,000 U.S. Census workers will count every person in the United States and will gather information about every person living at each address including name, age, gender, race, and other relevant data.

The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:  

If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, Census Bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don’t know into your home.

Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information. Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census. While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information such as a salary range, the Census Bureau will not ask for Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers nor will employees solicit donations.

SENATE PASSES BILL TO EXTEND $8,000 “FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER” CREDIT & EXTEND A $6,500 TAX CREDIT TO “MOVE-UP BUYERS”.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate late Wednesday unanimously passed legislation extending unemployment benefits and also significantly expanding a tax credit that was championed by Republican U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia.

As part of the unemployment package, the Senate also voted to extend an $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit through April 30, 2010.

The homebuyer tax credit program, which is currently set to expire Nov. 30, 2009, also would be expanded to give all homebuyers a $6,500 credit as long as they had been in their previous home for at least five years.

“We are about to do something very meaningful for the American Economy,” Isakson said in a statement. "The bill in the end is a jobs bill."

Isakson, a former Atlanta-area real estate broker, has said extending and expanding the home buyer credit was essential to getting the beleagured housing market -- and in turn, the overall economy -- on track. He had been working on the tax credit idea for months, and co-sponsored the latest version with Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut as an amendment to the unemployment benefits bill.

The U.S. House has already passed an extension of unemployment benefits, but must still approve the homebuyer tax credit. A spokeswoman for Isakson said Senate leadership has gotten assurances from House leaders that the amendment will get approval, and President Barack Obama is expected to sign it.

Under the amendment passed by the Senate Wednesday, both the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit as well as the $6,500 tax credit for “move-up” buyers would end April 30.

It would be limited to homebuyers who make $125,000 or less as an individual or $225,000 or less as a couple. The cost of the home being purchased may not exceed $800,000.

In extending the unemployment benefits, the $24 billion bill will continue the benefits of more than 1 million out-of-work Americans who would otherwise run out of benefits by the end of the year.

The bill also provides tax relief for businesses that are losing money, allowing them to use net operating losses in 2008 or 2009 to offset taxable profits from the previous five years.