(WLNS) – Today is the start of National Consumer Protection Week and that means Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette unveils his annual Top Ten Consumer Complaints in Michigan.

Schuette’s list is put together by analyzing more than 10,500 written complaints filed with his office in the past year.

“Consumer protection isn’t just one program,” said Schuette. “It’s a philosophy that guides everything we do. We emphasize safe social media use for students and fight to protect seniors from scams and fraud. We also defend consumers by exposing insurance fraud and price fixing, guarding against bogus charities, and prosecuting home foreclosure scams.”

As you might expect, credit and financial concerns topped the list with 865 complaints on debt collection and credit reporting. The complaints include aggressive collection tactics, phoney collectors and other scams.

Schuette noted one of the best ways to safeguard citizens from commercial exploitation is by equipping them with the information necessary to avoid becoming the target of a scam.Top 10 Consumer Complaint Categories of 2014

1. Credit and Financial Concerns: The top complaint category for 2014 held on to the spot that it has had since 2006 generating almost 1,700 complaints in a variety of areas including debt collection, credit repair, payday lending, and mortgage brokering.

2. Gasoline, Fuel, and Energy: Rising all the way from number 8 in 2013, propane complaints dominated this category last year. In 2014, Attorney General Schuette secured agreements with two companies relating to their propane prices and helped more than 6,200 customers obtain more than $600,000 in relief.

3. Telecommunications, Cable, and Satellite TV: Maintaining the third spot from the previous year, this category includes complaints involving issues like robocalls, telemarketing, and cable and satellite TV services. These categories made up almost 1,000 of the complaints in 2014.

4. Retail: This category also ranked fourth for the second year in a row includes complaints about merchandise quality, warranty, and pricing disputes.

5. Motor Vehicle and Automobiles: Rising back to number 5, disputes with used car dealers, automotive repair service complaints, and lemon law violations are included in this category.

6. Personal Service Providers: Falling back to number 6, complaints in this category range from dating services and beauty shops to home security and health and fitness organizations.

7. Internet: Complaints in this computer-based category numbered more than 600. Included are issues with internet service providers, online auction disputes, and fraudulent e-mail solicitations.

8. Landlord and Tenant: Rising one spot to number 8 in 2014, this category made up nearly 500 complaints. A majority of the complaints in this category involved apartment owners and managers.

9. Health Service Providers: Also rising one spot from 2013, this category involves complaints about different health service providers like doctors, dentists, and hospitals.

10. Contractors: Absent from last year’s list and rounding out the top ten are complaints about landscaping services, special trade contractors, and residential building construction services.WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN 2015

Ransomware has been identified as an emerging threat to Michigan consumers in 2015. Ransomware is a type of malware that restricts access to the computer system that it infects, and demands a ransom paid to the creator of the malware in order for the restriction to be removed. For more information, see Attorney General Schuette’s Consumer Alert on Ransomware.

The next biggest scam is expected to be through the use of mobile payment systems. Mobile payment systems are a relatively new field for both consumers and thieves. The most likely way consumers will be taken advantage of will be by downloading what looks like payment apps to their phones, and ending up with a virus that steals money instead. To protect yourself, only download payment apps that you know are from a trusted source, and remember to know where your phone is, set up strong passwords, and always protect your financial information.