As holiday shopping kicks into high gear, security experts are offering tips for avoiding efforts by scammers to separate people from their hard-earned money.

Carl Murphy, director of risk management for Colorado Credit Union, pointed to one increasingly common phishing scam, where fraudsters pose as a delivery representative from a trusted company via text or email to get people to hand over their credit card or other sensitive information.

"They're posing as UPS and saying, 'if you pay this $3 charge, we'll deliver this package to you.' People tend to not have an issue with paying $3, it's a very small amount," Murphy explained. "But once you provide your card information, they're now using that card information to do much larger purchases."

Murphy pointed out it is a good idea to review credit card, banking and other accounts, at least once a month. If you notice charges which could be fraudulent, file a dispute before protections expire, generally 60 days after your statement arrives.

If you believe you are the victim of identity theft, visit StopFraudColorado.gov for steps to take. It's also a good idea to file a police report, to start a paper trail.

To make it harder for fraudsters to crack account passwords using software which lets them zip through thousands of possible combinations, Murphy suggested making passwords longer. For example, instead of your dog's name 123, make it SpotLovesTakingLongWalks123.

Consumers tend to be more exposed during internet transactions, and Murphy noted many credit cards offer settings where cards can only be used online when you decide to unlock it.

"Ever since chips came out on cards, it's a little harder for fraudsters to clone your card and get away with fraud inside of stores," Murphy stressed. "So instead, they are turning toward e-commerce fraud."

Many Coloradans decide to help nonprofits and charities during end-of-year fundraising appeals. Murphy urged consumers to do their homework to ensure the organization is real and actually doing the work. As a general rule, Murphy added never provide any sensitive personal information on a call you did not initiate.

"One important tip is not to answer phone calls of phone numbers that you do not recognize," Murphy outlined. "If it's an important phone call, they will probably call a second time, or they will leave a voicemail. Or these days they will probably text you. Scammers tend to move on."

The state of Washington has launched an online system for tracking food poisoning cases.

The Washington State Health Department has opened its Foodborne Illness Notification System for filing complaints about food safety. Bill Marler, a food-safety lawyer in the state, said the system will rely on data to pinpoint potential food-safety hazards.

"If you get more and more people utilizing these services," he said, "just the sheer volume of the data will make it more useful because you get more angles to look at."

The Health Department says the system is anticipated to help with early detection of diseases, illness prevention, proactive safety measures and educational opportunities. The state has noted that one in six Americans suffers from food poisoning each year.

Marler said he believes the data collection will be helpful, but also notes that it isn't a panacea for stopping outbreaks. He said listeria is a good example: the period between consumption and onset of illness is between three and 70 days.

"I'm not sure I can remember what I ate three days ago, let alone what I ate 70 days ago," said Marler. "So, a lot of this analysis is sometimes flawed by people's memories and the incubation periods."

Marler added that listeria is also a pressing example because of the outbreak of it in deli meat. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two people have died and 28 have been hospitalized from the current outbreak across the country, although no cases have been reported in Washington state.


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Big changes are imminent in the way homes are bought and sold, as the new forms for transactions in California come out today.

The forms are linked to the proposed legal settlement by the National Association of Realtors, which ends the long-standing practice of having a home seller's agent pay a commission to the buyer's agent. It benefited buyers who may not have saved up enough money to pay their agent.

George Lopez, a real estate agent in Indian Wells, explained buyers will now have to negotiate a separate contract to hire and pay their own agent.

"Even with these changes, a buyer can still purchase a home without having the money to pay their agent," Lopez explained. "The general public needs to understand that the real estate commissions have been, and will always be, negotiable - and that if they don't have money to pay their agent, they can still potentially negotiate it in their sale."

The lawsuit contended the old way of selling homes tended to drive up costs, as buyers' agents had more incentive to steer people to sellers willing to pay a higher commission. The changes are intended to empower homebuyers to negotiate for a better deal.

Lopez thinks most sellers will still offer to pay a real estate broker, rather than risk losing out on a big chunk of the prospective buyer pool. But it will have to be negotiated in the offer, as commissions will no longer be stated in the Multiple Listing Service. The changes also mean buyers' agents cannot just meet prospective clients "on the fly" anymore, to go check out a home for sale.

"You have to meet me at the office; we have to have a meeting," Lopez pointed out. "We have to have an agreement in place that said that you're hiring me, or I can't show you any homes."

The new forms real estate agents use to complete transactions will take effect nationwide on Aug. 17.


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A new Virginia law protects residents from utility shutoffs in extreme weather.

The law prevents utility company shutoffs when temperatures are at or below 32 degrees and at or above 92 degrees. It also prevents shutoffs during states of emergency in response to public health emergencies. Virginia was one of 34 states with a shutoff moratorium during the pandemic.

Kajsa Foskey, economic justice outreach coordinator for the Virginia Poverty Law Center, said enacting this law cleared up some misconceptions.

"Most folks already thought that utilities couldn't shut them off on a day when it was too hot or too cold outside," she said. "So, what we've really done is just created some common-sense foundational protection so that all utility customers across the state know what their rights are."

Despite having some of these shutoff guidelines as unwritten rules, utility companies pushed back, saying it didn't allow them flexibility. Foskey said she thinks the state can build on this by including elements that didn't become law. This includes requiring data collection from utilities about who is being shut off, the frequency, reasons, and the amounts owed. She said this can help craft solutions for people facing shutoffs.

Rising utility prices concern advocates since this increases shutoffs. More than 750,000 Virginia families are energy cost-burdened, meaning they spend 6% of their income on utility bills.

Foskey said another removed part of the law would have reduced financial barriers to reconnection.

"When they try to get reconnected," she said, "not only do they have to pay that past-due amount that they couldn't afford to pay, they now also have to pay reconnection fees, late fees, security deposits, things that really just make the barrier to getting reconnected very high."

She added that this can prevent people from being able to afford everyday essentials such as food or rent. However, the new law has a provision for customers who received state energy assistance in the past year. They're eligible for having their deposit capped at 25% of what they previously owed to be reconnected, but this can only be used once every three years.