It’s Consumer Protection Week – here’s what you need to know

In some ways it has never been easier to be a consumer. In other ways, it has never been more complicated.

New tools and frequent data breaches have given bad actors more ways to scam us and some new technologies can be used to rip us off.

But consumers have tools too that can lower costs and protect ourselves and loved ones. We need to use them.

Here’s seven things to know during this Consumer Protection Week in Colorado.

1. Here’s how you can store important documents in the cloud safely. From flooding to tornados to wildfires, many of us in Colorado live in areas at risk from a natural disaster. It’s critical that you are prepared, including what documents you’ll need after a disaster and how documents can be stored in the cloud safely.
2. Step-by-step guide on freezing your credit. When you leave your house, you lock your door. But for most of us, the door to our credit is wide open. Given all the data breaches and online collection and selling of our data over the last decade, we should assume some bad actor has enough personal information to set-up a fraudulent credit card, run up big bills and leave us with the tab. A half-hour freezing your credit could save you hours and hours of aggravation, tons of stress and maybe a lot of money too
3. Ways to lower your medical bills and protect your credit. Our guides show you how to get a good faith estimate, appeal an insurance denial, understand a medical bill, negotiate prices and make sure your credit report doesn’t include paid medical bills.
4. An unbiased tool for comparing credit cards. Consumers now have access to a comprehensive, unbiased tool, free of paid advertising, that allows them to compare over 500 credit cards. Cutting the annual percentage rate (APR) or fees on your credit card can save you hundreds of dollars if you carry a balance.
5. The most repairable laptops of 2025. No one walks into a store looking for a laptop that will break easily and can’t be fixed. So we rated top laptop brands on how long they last and how easily you can repair them. Good news – you don’t have to pay a higher price for a laptop that is more repairable.
6. New protections for when you fly in 2025. Passengers can get a refund if a flight is cancelled or significantly delayed for any reason. That’s one of a few rights that consumers should be aware of when we fly in 2025.
7. Automatically tell websites – don’t collect my data for sales. Clicking on those pop-ups and opting-out of every website’s data collection policies one-by-one can be exhausting. Coloradans should download a universal opt-out mechanism that broadcasts to every website you visit that you don’t want your personal data sold.