Consumer complaints and inquiries filed with the state surged 20% last year, with housing-related and imposter scams driving much of the increase, according to an annual update from Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.

The attorney general’s office received 24,473 complaints last year, which surpassed the previous record of 20,390 set in 2023. The top category with around 1,670 complaints in each of the past two years involves retail sales — everything from defective products to impossible-to-cancel subscriptions.

Professional services represented the second biggest category of complaints and unlike retail, which was flat, incidents rose by nearly 30%. Complaints in that area centered on warranties, shoddy workmanship, and problems tied to legal and other professional services.

Real estate sales and services complaints, which had ranked 10th on the 2023 list, shot up to the third spot, going from 520 to 1,272 complaints, a 145% increase.

Consumer advocates have focused more attention on questionable practices like the use of algorithms that reduce rent competition and undisclosed charges or junk fees that zing renters after the fact, such as fees for package delivery or for moving out. Weiser has pursued action against real estate companies like RealPage and GreyStar alleging their practices harm consumers. The increase in complaints may reflect greater awareness as well as firms trying to push the limits of acceptable behavior.

Consumers also appear to be struggling more with imposter scams and business impersonations, where complaints went from 808 to 1,205, or more than 50%. Banks, government agencies, tech support, online retailers, delivery firms — the list of businesses being impersonated is long.

Weiser notes that the prevalence of social media accounts combined with the rise of artificial intelligence technology now allows scammers to take voice recordings or photos and use them to craft highly customized and believable messages.

More broadly, scammers can gain personal information, such as the name of a target’s bank, and then combine it with a spoofed or false caller I.D. number, overcoming the normal caution people might show.

“Stay nervous,” Weiser advised. “When someone contacts you by phone, text, or social media, don’t assume what is being said is real. You have to start from the opposite assumption. Assume it isn’t true.”

His advice is to hang up or ignore an email or text and then directly contact the supposed source of the call if there is any doubt. Don’t use the number provided in a text, email or showing up on the caller ID.

Weiser notes that the record number of complaints not only points to too many consumers being treated unfairly but also to greater public awareness of the website his office runs to gather complaints StopFraudColorado.gov. He also noted that his office has been able to secure $500 million in “refunds, restitution, credits, and debt relief for Colorado consumers” since he took office.

The Colorado Public Interest Research Group, or CoPIRG, also released a list of tips on Monday to help consumers better secure their data. One is to store sensitive financial documents in the cloud, which can prove especially helpful in the event of a disaster or an emergency evacuation.

Given how much sensitive personal data is floating around on the dark web after data breaches, consumers are urged to freeze credit reports with all three national bureaus. That will block attempts by scammers to set up new credit lines or loans under a victim’s name. The task takes about 30 minutes and is free of charge, but fewer than one in 10 consumers have ever implemented a freeze. U.S. PIRG provides a guide on how to freeze a credit report.

Under the Colorado Privacy Act, consumers have the right to install a browser tool that automatically blocks the sale of personal data by any websites visited. For Google Chrome, the extension is called Privacy Badger. CoPIRG has a guide on how to install and use the extensions.

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