National Consumer Protection Week Underway in Colorado

March 1, 2021 (DENVER)—Attorney General Phil Weiser kicked off National Consumer Protection Week today by unveiling the list of the top 10 consumer complaints and inquiries his office received in 2020, which included airlines’ response to upended travel, robocalls, and pandemic purchase scams.

Last year, consumers filed a record-breaking 12,130 complaints and inquiries with the Consumer Protection Division in the Attorney General’s Office, a 23.5% increase from 2019.

“We were prepared for scammers to prey on consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we acted quickly to warn Coloradans of frauds as we detected them,” said Weiser. “By reporting pandemic-related scams that did arise, Colorado consumers helped us warn others about what to look out for. Together, we can continue our work to protect Colorado consumers and hold bad actors accountable.”

National Consumer Protection Week, Feb.28– March 7, is designated by the Federal Trade Commission as a time to help people understand their consumer rights and to make well-informed decisions about money. The Attorney General’s Office partners with the FTC to help raise awareness about Colorado scams and resources available.

The leading of complaints and inquiries received in 2020 are:

Airlines; fraudulent or unwanted phone calls/emails, retail sales for subscriptions, collection agencies, government agencies, lending agencies, telecommunication providers.

Consumer protection actions taken in 2020:

The Attorney General brought enforcement actions against several of the businesses consumers reported to our office, including Nationwide Medical Supply and a hand sanitizer company. During this time, Ticketmaster cooperated with the attorney general to provide refunds to consumers for canceled events. Coloradans who were denied ticket refunds for canceled trips or the ability to use flight vouchers as promised by airlines submitted more than 650 complaints to our office in 2020. In response Weiser urged the U.S. Department of Transportation to investigate Frontier Airlines, which was the target of the vast majority of the complaints.

To thwart medical product scams, the Consumer Protection Division in the Attorney General’s Office also monitored for fake COVID-19 tests and cures. The office sent cease-and-desist letters to businesses that marketed tests for COVID-19 infection or immunity and overstated the reliability and accuracy of the tests or treatments.

StopFraudColorado.gov is a website for the Attorney General’s Office’s Consumer Protection Division that is designed to emphasize consumer protection outreach and makes it easier for Coloradans to avoid becoming a victim of fraud, while streamlining the process for filing fraud reports. If you notice any scams, fraud, price gouging, or other attempts to take advantage of Coloradans, contact Stop Fraud Colorado at 800-222-4444 or www.StopFraudColorado.gov.