Question: I received a survey that says it is from NOAA and that I was chosen randomly to receive it and not to give it to anyone else to fill out. As thanks they included two dollar bills, but they are not new and crisp, as you’d expect. They are wrinkled. That was a red flag for me. I also was concerned because it says if I have questions, don’t call NOAA, but call this company called RTI International. Is this a scam? I didn’t call just in case. Is NOAA actually doing a survey?
Answer: It’s not a scam. The “Weather and Outdoor Activity Survey” you received in the mail is being conducted for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries division by RTI International, an independent, nonprofit research institute. RTI International does research and analysis for clients worldwide, including U.S. government agencies.
As for the money, research has shown that a token of gratitude makes people more likely to complete and return surveys. Prepaid incentives are most effective.
April Umminger, a spokeswoman for RTI International, explained the currency’s rumpled appearance.
“As a practice, the bills we use as survey incentives come from local financial institutions and not directly from the Federal Reserve. New bills can be problematic running on automated equipment. They sometimes can stick together and cause a double stuff in the assembly processing,” she said.
We wanted to know more about this survey, commonly known as the fishing effort survey, which is used to estimate the amount of recreational fishing in coastal states. However, the Honolulu-based NOAA spokeswoman we emailed was not available, having been furloughed during the federal government’s partial shutdown.
The Fisheries website provided some information, explaining that the FES samples a national database of U.S. postal addresses, supplemented by information from state-based recreational fishing license and registration systems.
“Consequently, the mail survey has the ability to reach all households in each coastal state, which improves our potential of reaching anglers. The FES isn’t just a fishing survey. It was designed as a ‘Weather and Outdoor Activity Survey’ because it’s important to get information from fishermen and non-fishermen alike. We found that both groups were more likely to answer and return a more general survey that includes questions about topics other than fishing,” it says.
Besides asking how often each member of the household fishes from shore or from a private or rental boat, the survey also asks about visits to beaches and coastal parks; whether anyone in the household has sought shelter from a storm recently; and how the household receives information about the weather. Demographic information, such as gender, age and race, also is sought, but no personally identifiable information is collected, it says.
Given the proliferation of impersonation scams that try to fool people into believing they are communicating with a government agency, your caution was not unwarranted. In this case, however, it’s fine to call 877-212-7229 (the phone number on the mailer you received) if you have questions. You can learn more about RTI at its website, rti.org.
Mahalo
I’d like to give a shout-out to the two good Samaritans who pushed my car off the road when my transmission failed.
On my way to work on New Year’s Eve, my car started having issues. It started to slow down just before Dole Plantation. Just before the stoplight the car wouldn’t go any more, blocking traffic.
Sorry, guys.
Right away a truck and a car pulled over, and the drivers pushed the car off the road. Thanks again. — D.I.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
