City officials are warning the public after receiving reports that people posing as municipal census workers were trying to collect information from residents over the phone.

"A City of Edmonton census worker will not phone you," Steve Thompson, director of elections and corporate records said in a release Wednesday.

Real census workers wear visible, city-issued identification and are going door-to-door to speak with people in person.

If residents are not at home, the census workers leave a callback notice with a phone number and a reference number so people can call them.

Census workers are only asking for the number of people in a residence, their gender, their month and date of birth, and whether the home is owned or rented. They are not asking for names or addresses.

The municipal census began April 1 and will continue until the end of the month. It is 80 per cent complete.