How to educate residents about scams, for assisted living staff in 2026

Q: Is Postal Buddy free to try for a resident?

The senior's side is free forever. Plus, the paid tier, costs $9.99 a month or $79 a year. Plus comes with a 30-day trial, with no card needed when the first helper joins. You can also try a demo with a made-up family without an account.

Q: Will Postal Buddy confirm that a letter is safe?

No. Postal Buddy says it never calls a letter safe. For a suspected scam, it says not to pay or call the number on the letter. Staff should still check any unusual letter with a trusted person or the facility before anyone acts on it, because the app is one input and not the final word.

Q: Can Postal Buddy's web scam check be used without an account?

Yes. The web scam check is free and needs no account. It tells you what looks wrong and says nothing is kept. Staff can point a resident to it when a suspicious letter arrives, but the facility's own routine of pausing and checking with a trusted person still comes first.

Assisted living staff can teach residents to spot scams with one simple routine, the materials to gather first, and a few tools that can help.

By CleverDings · 2026-10-24

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

Give residents one short routine for mail and calls: pause, do not pay or share details, and check with a trusted person or the facility. Practice it in small, repeated sessions, and use any app only with the resident's agreement.

Option	What it does	Cost
Postal Buddy	Tells an older person, in big print and out loud, what each letter they photograph is. ^[1]	The senior's side is free forever. ^[1] Plus costs $9.99 a month or $79 a year. ^[1] Plus comes with a 30-day trial, with no card needed when the first helper joins. ^[1]
Facility's own resident education program	Not published here; ask whether the facility already runs scam awareness sessions.	Not published
Local police or sheriff's office	Not published here; ask whether they give talks to residents and what topics they cover.	Not published
State attorney general's consumer protection office	Not published here; check whether it publishes scam guides for older adults.	Not published

What you need before you start

Most of the work is getting the basics ready, so that every staff member teaches the same lesson in the same way. Residents remember a routine far better than a list of warnings.

A short list of common scams. Phone calls, letters, text messages and emails that ask for money, personal details or gift cards, or that claim a bill is overdue or a prize has been won.
Your facility's rules. What residents may open and handle themselves, who receives mail, and who a resident should call first when something seems wrong.
Contact details. The facility's front desk number, a family contact for each resident, and the local police non-emergency line.
Consent. Any tool or photo used with a resident's mail should follow that resident's wishes and the facility's policy.
Simple records. Notes on who was taught what and when, without writing down bank or account numbers.

Step by step

Agree the routine with facility management and any family contacts before teaching starts.
Name the common scams in plain words, one at a time, with one simple example for each.
Teach a three-step check for any letter or call: pause, do not pay or share details, and check with a trusted person or the facility.
Practice with a made-up letter or call so residents rehearse the pause without any real money at stake.
Hold short group sessions and repeat them, because a single lesson rarely sticks.
Give each resident a card with the numbers to call and the words to use when they are unsure.
Check in one to one with residents who have memory or hearing needs, using large print and slow, clear speech.
Write down what was covered and when, and revisit the lesson each season or when a new scam is reported locally.

Tools that can do it

Several kinds of help fit this job. Choose based on whether residents read easily, whether they want a device involved, and whether family members are part of the plan.

Your facility's own resident education program. Ask whether the facility already runs scam awareness sessions and who leads them.

Local police or sheriff's office. Ask whether they give talks to residents and what topics they cover, including phone and mail scams.

State attorney general's consumer protection office. Check whether it publishes scam guides for older adults and how a resident can report one.

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] The app can read its explanation of a letter out loud. ^[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, and it tells you what looks wrong and says nothing is kept. ^[1] Plus adds alerts for a scam asking for money, a bill about to go overdue, a government letter, or a bill that jumped. ^[1] Plus also adds a Monday email on what needs doing, what was caught and what changed; on the free plan, one family member gets a Monday email with how many letters came. ^[1] The older person does not have to sign in, and family helpers sign in. ^[1] You can try a demo with a made-up family without an account. ^[1] A web app is listed, but the Postal Buddy website says 'Opening soon'. ^[1] Whether a resident's mail is photographed at all is for the resident and the facility to decide under their own rules.

Common mistakes to avoid

Teaching once. A single session rarely changes habits. Repeat the routine and check how residents are doing.
Skipping the resident's view. Residents know their own mail and routines. Ask them what worries them before you set the rules.
Treating an unusual letter as routine. Teach staff and residents to pause and check, even when the letter looks official.
Sharing details to be helpful. Residents should never give out bank details, passwords or personal numbers to someone who contacted them first.
Forgetting the contact card. Without written numbers, residents may freeze when a call comes in.
Leaving out families. Family contacts can reinforce the routine and help spot a new scam early.
Not keeping records. Note dates, topics and who attended, so the lesson can be repeated and improved.

Frequently asked questions

What should assisted living staff gather before teaching residents about scams?

Start with a short list of common scams that reach residents by mail, phone, text and email, along with your facility's rules on who handles mail. Gather the front desk number, each resident's family contact, and the local police non-emergency line. Agree the routine with management first, so every staff member teaches the same three steps: pause, do not pay or share details, and check with a trusted person. Keep notes on who was taught and when, without writing down bank or account numbers.

Is Postal Buddy free to try for a resident?

The senior's side is free forever. ^[1] Plus, the paid tier, costs $9.99 a month or $79 a year. ^[1] Plus comes with a 30-day trial, with no card needed when the first helper joins. ^[1] You can also try a demo with a made-up family without an account. ^[1]

Does Postal Buddy need the resident to sign in?

No. The older person does not have to sign in, and family helpers sign in instead. ^[1] The app is made for phones and the web. ^[1] Whether a resident's letters are photographed at all is for the resident and the facility to decide under their own rules, and the resident's agreement should come first.

Will Postal Buddy confirm that a letter is safe?

No. Postal Buddy says it never calls a letter safe. ^[1] For a suspected scam, it says not to pay or call the number on the letter. ^[1] Staff should still check any unusual letter with a trusted person or the facility before anyone acts on it, because the app is one input and not the final word.

Can Postal Buddy's web scam check be used without an account?

Yes. The web scam check is free and needs no account. ^[1] It tells you what looks wrong and says nothing is kept. ^[1] Staff can point a resident to it when a suspicious letter arrives, but the facility's own routine of pausing and checking with a trusted person still comes first.

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)