New Zealand's national Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) is warning Kiwis to watch out for fake Census websites and social media accounts.
"We know that scammers target large events, using the opportunity to harvest information and sometimes even defraud people out of money," CERT NZ director Rob Pope said in a statement on Monday.
"The census is vitally important to the country, and it's sad that some would try to disrupt it for criminal purposes."
He said people need to take a moment to check that the information they are getting is from an official source.
"With a little bit of awareness the fakes can be avoided," he said.
Stats NZ said it has already removed fake accounts trying to imitate the official Twitter channel.
"You will not receive any unsolicited text messages or private messages on social media from the Census team," said Simon Mason, Stats NZ's deputy government statistician and deputy chief executive Census and collection operations.
"If you see a social media account that you suspect is fake, report it to CERT NZ immediately."
CERT NZ is working closely with Stats NZ to ensure that the Census is run smoothly and without disruption from cyber incidents.
