Fox31 and Channel 2 teamed up with CoPIRG to answer your questions where you can send in your questions to their website at www.copirg.org/questions and the CoPIRG team will answer them. From robocalls to airline cancellations to surprise medical bills to data breaches to hidden fees, there are a lot of ways consumers can be ripped-off or bad actors trying to scam you or still your personal information.

During this week, your top concerns regarding fraud is what should you do if you are a victim of fraud and how do you protect yourself? According to Danny, he says that you should report any fraud to StopfraudColorado.gov and to the Federal Trade Commission at Reportfraud.ftc.gov. The information will get to law enforcement, which is critical to hold bad actors accountable.

Another hot topic is getting a refund for a non-refundable airline ticket.  If the airline cancels your flight, you are entitled to a refund. Airlines may offer you vouchers but if you believe a refund is better for you, you are entitled and should ask for a refund. A couple of tips on making sure you get your refund, wait to cancel your flight, if you cancel it, you don’t get a refund. Wait for the airline to cancel the flight. If you are having trouble, file a complaint to https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/file-consumer-complaint. If you used a credit card, contact them to help you, sometimes they will refund your money themselves.

Robocalls is a big problem, especially robotexts. You can sign up for the Do Not Call List to help eliminate some of these texts and calls, but bad actors won’t pay attention to whether you’re on the list. However, if you’re on the the list, it’s easier for law enforcement to go after the bad actors because they are now breaking the law. Coloradans received 1.8 billion robotexts in 2021 and that jumped to 2.1 billion in 2022. One way to help phone companies ID robotexts is to forward the text to 7726 (SPAM) so it can be flagged.

To learn more about CoPIRG check out their website at www.copirg.org.