How to document fraud attempts for court records, for guardians and conservators

A step by step way for guardians and conservators to document fraud attempts for court records, what to save first, and tools that can help.

By CleverDings · 2026-10-29

CleverDings is published by the makers of Benefit Buddy, Postal Buddy and Packing Buddy, which are compared here alongside other apps.

Save the original mailings and any proof they are not genuine, log each attempt with its date, sender and what it asked for, and keep a copy a court can follow. A tool such as Postal Buddy flags a suspected scam and tells you not to pay or call the number on it, but the record itself is yours to keep. ^[1]

Option	What it does	Cost
Postal Buddy	For a bill it shows the sender, the amount and the due date, and for a suspected scam it says not to pay or call the number on it. ^[1] ^[1]	The senior's side is free forever; Plus costs $9.99 a month or $79 a year. ^[1]
Paper photo log	Not published here; decide what to note for each mailing and keep the date and sender.	Not published
Probate or family court office	Not published here; ask what forms and supporting copies it expects for a fraud report.	Not published
Legal aid or a lawyer	Not published here; ask whether the record will be reviewed before it is filed.	Not published

What you need before you start

Most of the work is collecting evidence before a report is written, because a court reads what was kept at the time. Gather these items and hold them in one place.

Your authority. The guardianship or conservatorship order or letters that show you act for the other person.
Every original mailing that looks like a scam. Keep the letter and its envelope, because the postmark shows the date it arrived.
The person's real bills and statements. You need these to compare a genuine charge against one that is not.
A log. A running list where each attempt gets its arrival date, the sender's name, and what the letter asked for or demanded.
An untouched copy. Make a photocopy or photo of each item before you write on it, so one set stays clean.
A note of why the person cannot act. The court wants to know why the other person could not see the scam or answer for it alone.

Keep the originals in a folder and the log separate. A court is easier to follow when every item has a date and a place.

Step by step

Save the item before anything else. Keep the envelope, so the postmark and return address are visible, and store the letter with it.
Photograph it first. Take a photo of the letter before you mark or file it, and tag the photo with the date it arrived.
Log the basics. For each item write the date received, the sender's name, and what the letter asks for or demands.
Note what makes it suspicious. Add the reasons: a tight deadline, an unknown sender, a request for payment, or a request for personal details.
Capture the response. If anyone answered a call or wrote back, note who was spoken to and what was said, and keep any reply.
Check it against a real bill. Compare the letter with the person's statements to tell a genuine charge from a fake one, and note the outcome.
Sort the file. Group the items by date or by suspected sender, and keep the log in the same order.
Date and sign each page. Courts trust a record that shows who kept it, so date and sign every note.
Add the next one the same day. A fresh attempt gets logged at once, so the file never has a gap a court could question.

Tools that can do it

Several kinds of help fit this job. Pick based on how much you want to photograph and whether you also want to talk to a person.

Your own photo log. A paper folder and a phone camera need nothing extra to buy. Keep the originals, keep each photo dated, and list every item in the log. Check that each entry shows the date, the sender and what the letter asked, so a court can follow it.

The court's probate or family division. Ask what the court wants for a fraud report: which forms, what copies it expects, and whether a statement from the older person is required. Check the filing steps before you assemble the file.

Legal aid or a lawyer. Ask whether they will review the record before it is filed, and check what they charge. A review can catch a missing date before the court does.

Postal Buddy. Postal Buddy is made by the team that publishes this site. It is an app that tells an older person, in big print and out loud, what each letter they photograph is. ^[1] You take a photo of each letter you get, and Postal Buddy tells you, in big print and out loud, what it is. ^[1] For a bill, it shows the sender, the amount and the due date. ^[1] For a suspected scam, it says not to pay or call the number on it, and Postal Buddy says it never calls a letter safe. ^[1] Its web scam check is free and needs no account; Postal Buddy tells you what looks wrong and says nothing is kept. ^[1] On the free plan, one family member gets a Monday email with how many letters came. ^[1] Plus includes alerts for a scam asking for money, a bill about to go overdue, a government letter, or a bill that jumped. ^[1] The older person does not have to sign in; the family helpers sign in. ^[1] You can try a demo with a made-up family without an account. ^[1] The app is made for phones and the web. ^[1] A web app is listed, but the Postal Buddy website says 'Opening soon'. ^[1] Keeping the photos and the alert notes in one place helps you follow what came in and when. Ask the court what it accepts as a record before you rely on any app's notes.

Common mistakes to avoid

Throwing out the envelope. The postmark is proof of when the attempt arrived, so keep it with the letter.
Writing on the only copy. Make a clean copy before you mark anything, so the original stays whole.
Leaving out the suspicion. A record that says only what the letter asked is weaker than one that says why it looked like a scam.
Waiting before logging. A gap in dates makes a court wonder what else was missed, so note each item the day it arrives.
Trusting a memory of a bill. Compare the letter to an actual statement, because a fake charge can look close to a real one.
Guessing at the due date. Keep the statement or envelope that shows the date, rather than relying on a recollection.
Keeping only the log. The original letter or photo belongs with the report, because the note alone is not the evidence.

Frequently asked questions

What should a guardian keep to document a fraud attempt?

Keep the original letter with its envelope, so the postmark shows the arrival date. Note the date, the sender's name, and what the letter asked for or demanded. Add an untouched copy or photo made before you wrote on it, and compare the letter against the person's real bills and statements so a genuine charge is not kept as a fake one. Put the originals in a folder and the log separately, so a court can follow both.

How does Postal Buddy help document a fraud attempt?

You take a photo of each letter you get, and Postal Buddy tells you, in big print and out loud, what it is. ^[1] For a suspected scam, it says not to pay or call the number on it, and Postal Buddy says it never calls a letter safe. ^[1] The web scam check is free and needs no account, and says nothing is kept. ^[1] You can keep your own record of each read and flag, and ask the court what it accepts. The older person does not have to sign in; family helpers do. ^[1]

What is the cost to use Postal Buddy for this?

Postal Buddy says the senior's side is free forever, and Plus costs $9.99 a month or $79 a year. ^[1] Plus includes a Monday email on what needs doing, what was caught and what changed, along with alerts for a scam asking for money, a bill about to go overdue, a government letter, or a bill that jumped. ^[1] ^[1] A 30 day Plus trial needs no card when the first helper joins. ^[1]

Does a guardian have to sign in every time?

No. The older person does not have to sign in; the family helpers are the ones who sign in. ^[1] That means the adult who helps with the mail carries the sign in, and the older person can still photograph a letter and have it explained. On the free plan, one family member gets a Monday email with how many letters came. ^[1]

Can Postal Buddy be tried before it is used for records?

Yes. You can try a demo with a made-up family without an account. ^[1] That way the helper can see how the letter explanation and the scam flag read before deciding whether to use it as part of the record. The app is made for phones and the web. ^[1] A web app is listed, but the Postal Buddy website says 'Opening soon'. ^[1]

Postal Buddy says the senior's side is free forever; Plus costs $9.99 a month or $79 a year, with a 30-day Plus trial and no card needed when the first helper joins. ^[1]

Try Postal Buddy

Sources

Postal Buddy's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)