Instituto de Estadísticas alerts on suspicious calls impersonating its staff

The short version

• Instituto de Estadísticas de Puerto Rico issued an alert on Thursday about people posing as its representatives to conduct supposed surveys
• Subdirector Idania Rodríguez Ayuso stated the agency does not contact anyone unexpectedly for telephone interviews
• Rodríguez told recipients to hang up if in doubt, note the number, and report the call while verifying directly with the agency
• The institute said it reserves the right to refer cases to authorities and take legal action

Agency warns against sharing information

The Instituto de Estadísticas de Puerto Rico alerted the public and commercial sector about calls from individuals pretending to be its representatives to carry out supposed surveys. Primera Hora reported. According to the agency, it does not communicate with anyone to conduct telephone surveys without prior notice.

Subdirectora Idania Rodríguez Ayuso said in a press release that in cases where a telephone interview has been conducted, there has been a prior registration and the participant has given written consent to receive the call. She urged people not to provide personal, financial, banking or business information if there is no prior agreement or communication with the Instituto. El Vocero reported.

What the sources posted

Posts and statements below are the sources' own words, quoted as published. They are not independently verified.

En los casos en que se ha realizado una entrevista por teléfono, ha existido un registro previo y la persona participante ha consentido por escrito a recibir la llamada

Our translation: In cases where a telephone interview has been conducted, there has been a prior registration and the participant has given written consent to receive the call.

The source's own statement, as quoted by Instituto de Estadísticas. Not verified by PuertoRico.com.

How to verify and report calls

Rodríguez recommended that anyone receiving a suspicious call should hang up, write down the number from which they were contacted and report the incident. Verification can be made by calling the agency's offices at (787) 819-0730, writing to preguntas@estadisticas.pr or consulting the official portal at estadisticas.pr.gov.

The subdirectora warned that no one is authorized to use the name, official seal or representation of the Instituto without its permission. The entity stated it reserves the right to refer the facts to the corresponding authorities and take the legal actions that proceed.

Where the sources differ

Both Primera Hora and El Vocero reported the same core facts, including the alert issued by the Instituto de Estadísticas, the statements from subdirectora Idania Rodríguez Ayuso about prior consent for calls, the advice not to share information, the recommendation to hang up and report, and the warning about unauthorized use of the agency's name. El Vocero specified the alert was issued on Thursday while Primera Hora did not give a day; the two outlets used slightly different phrasing but presented no conflicting information.

What the reports do not say

The reports do not say how many calls have been received, which towns or areas have been most affected, whether any victims have lost money, or whether authorities have opened an investigation. They also do not indicate when the suspicious calls began or whether the callers have used specific scripts or spoofed numbers.

Sources

Every link below was opened and checked when this story was published. Official means a government body, agency or the organization itself; Reporting means a news outlet.

1. Official Instituto de Estadísticas alerta sobre llamadas sospechosas a su nombreInstituto de Estadísticas de Puerto Rico (Press release) · primerahora.com · Spanish · checked Oct 9, 9:22 AM AST
2. Reporting Instituto de Estadísticas alerta sobre llamadas sospechosas a su nombrePrimera Hora (Primera Hora) · primerahora.com · Spanish · checked Oct 9, 9:22 AM AST
3. Reporting Instituto de Estadísticas alerta sobre llamadas de personas que se hacen pasar por sus representantesEl Vocero (El Vocero) · elvocero.com · Spanish · checked Oct 9, 9:22 AM AST

How we checked this

Primera Hora and El Vocero both based their articles on the same official press release from the Instituto de Estadísticas de Puerto Rico. All details about the agency's position and recommendations rest on that single institutional statement.

Compiled by the PuertoRico.com News Desk from the reports and statements listed above, and checked against them before publishing. It does not include original interviews. Spot an error? Email support@puertorico.com with a link to this story.