Census in Bavaria starts: Thousands of helpers on duty - authorities warn of fraudsters

Created: 05/05/2022, 08:04

By: Dominik Goettler

"Census 2022" is written on a tablet in the Bavarian State Office for Statistics, which is used by the survey officers to carry out the surveys.

© Daniel Karmann/dpa

From May 16, the doorbell will ring: the surveys for the census in Bavaria will begin.

The statistics office warns of fraudulent free riders.

Munich – Exactly how many inhabitants does Bavaria have?

How do people live here?

What's your schoool degree?

Which profession?

All of these questions should be clarified as part of the census, which takes place every ten years and is made up for this year with a one-year delay due to Corona.

From Monday, May 16th, the first randomly selected people will be interviewed in Bavaria.

Census 2022 in Bavaria: 550,000 addresses are randomly selected

According to the Bavarian State Office for Statistics, 550,000 addresses are randomly selected.

The citizens concerned will be informed by post within the next two weeks.

Around 20,000 so-called survey officers are on duty from May 16 to around mid-August to conduct the surveys.

The volunteers are trained beforehand and can earn something tax-free.

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Some municipalities are still looking for helpers.

By Wednesday (May 4th), around 1,700 survey officers for the municipalities and around 300 helpers were still missing across Bavaria, who are expected to be deployed in June for a repeat survey in the State Office for Statistics.

On the website of the state office there is an overview map where there are still vacancies.

Census: Fraudsters try to get account data or pin numbers

However, experience from the last census in 2011 showed that con artists also took advantage of the referendum.

At that time there were attempts to question citizens on the phone or even at the front door.

The scammers promised a small amount of money for participation and tried to get pin numbers or bank details from citizens.

Such cases were known, for example, in the district of Erding.

A false questionnaire also appeared in Constance, which also included questions about political views, financial circumstances and health.

Census: Free riders pretend to be survey officers

For this reason, the statistical office warns again before this year's census against free riders who pretend to be survey officers.

Important to know: the official interviewers never come unannounced, emphasizes Franziska Strauch from the statistical office.

Everyone selected for the survey will receive a letter in advance with the announcement of the date and a telephone number of the survey officer.

At the appointment itself, the interviewers also present official identification.

The interviewers are also not allowed to ask about income, religion, bank information, ID documents, passwords, signatures or, for example, the vaccination status.

If in doubt, you should break off the conversation and inform the police or the State Office for Statistics, says Franziska Strauch.

The survey is about age, marital status and household size.

It usually lasts five to ten minutes.

About half of the people are also asked questions from an extended questionnaire.

This is about school leaving qualifications or a job.

This survey takes another 10 to 15 minutes.

You can either answer these questions directly to the interviewer, fill out a paper questionnaire, or answer later online.

As part of the census, information is also obtained from all owners of apartments or buildings with living space, independently of the public survey.

Participation in the census is mandatory by law.

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