How can I tell if a letter is a scam?
Watch for pressure and unusual payment demands — real institutions don’t work that way.
Most mail scams share a few tells. Be suspicious if a letter pressures you to act immediately (“final notice”, “respond within 24 hours”), asks you to keep it secret, or demands payment by gift card, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, or a money app like Zelle or Venmo. Legitimate businesses and government agencies never ask to be paid in gift cards.
Other red flags: a prize or refund you didn’t expect, a request to “verify” your Social Security number or bank details, a sender name that doesn’t match the return address, a phone number that isn’t the organization’s official one, or a QR code you’re told to scan to “confirm” something.
When in doubt, don’t use any phone number or link printed in the letter. Look up the organization’s real number yourself, or scan the letter with What’s This Mail to flag the warning signs and surface official contacts.
What should I do if I already responded to a scam?
Act fast — the right next step depends on what you shared.
If you sent gift cards, contact the card company right away and ask them to freeze the funds; keep the card and receipt. If you wired money or sent it by a money app, call your bank or the app’s support immediately to try to reverse or stop it.
If you shared your Social Security number or bank details, contact your bank, consider a credit freeze with the three credit bureaus, and report identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov. If you clicked a link or installed software, disconnect from the internet and have someone you trust help you check the device.
Report the scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and, for online crime, to IC3.gov. What’s This Mail includes an “I already responded” recovery guide that walks through each of these situations with the right agencies to call.
How do I help an aging parent manage their mail?
Set up a simple, repeatable routine they can do on their own — with you one tap away.
The goal is independence with a safety net. Agree on a simple habit: anything confusing gets photographed before any action is taken. Set your parent up as the primary user and add yourself as their trusted contact, so a single tap can call or text you the plain-English result of any letter.
Turn on read-aloud and a larger font so the result is easy to take in. Use the bill calendar and reminders so deadlines don’t slip, and the archive so you can both look back at what arrived and what was done.
Because everything is processed on the device, your parent’s mail stays private — you only see what they choose to share with you. That makes it easier to help from another city without taking over.
What do Medicare and Social Security letters usually mean?
Most are routine notices — but scammers imitate them, so verify the sender.
A Medicare Summary Notice (MSN) is not a bill — it lists services billed to Medicare so you can check them. An Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from an insurer is similar. Social Security sends benefit-amount notices, annual cost-of-living updates, and occasional requests for information.
Genuine agencies write plainly and don’t threaten arrest, demand gift cards, or ask you to “reactivate” your number to avoid losing benefits — those are scams. Medicare will not call or write to sell you anything or ask for your Medicare number out of the blue.
If a letter claims to be from Medicare or Social Security and pressures you, verify with the official numbers (Medicare 1-800-633-4227; Social Security 1-800-772-1213) rather than anything printed on the letter. What’s This Mail recognizes these senders and shows their real contact numbers.
Which letters should I keep, and which can I shred?
Keep anything with a deadline, a dispute, or tax relevance; shred sensitive junk.
Keep bills until they’re paid, tax-related documents for several years, insurance and benefit notices, and anything you might need to dispute (collections, legal notices). Keep a record of what you paid and when.
You can usually recycle clearly identified marketing once you’ve decided you don’t want it — but shred anything with your name plus an account number, Social Security number, or medical details, since “dumpster diving” is a real source of identity theft.
If you’re unsure whether something matters, scan it first: What’s This Mail tells you the document type and whether there’s a deadline, and its plain-language filing guide suggests whether to keep, file, or shred each kind of letter.
How do I know if something is really a bill I owe?
Check the sender, the amount, the due date — and whether you recognize the service.
A real bill names a service or account you recognize, shows an amount and a due date, and gives an official way to pay. Be cautious with “invoices” for things you never ordered, renewal notices for subscriptions you don’t remember, or bills whose amount is very different from what you usually pay — all common tricks.
Never pay just because a letter looks official or urgent. Confirm with the company using a number you look up independently, and check the amount against past statements.
What’s This Mail reads the amount and due date for you, flags when a bill’s amount is unusual for that sender, and lays out simple next steps — so you can pay real bills on time and pause on the ones that don’t add up.
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