What Can You Do to Stop Junk Faxes?

olddoc asks: "I am having a growing problem with junk faxes. Unlike email, it costs me money when I get a fax so junk faxes really tick me off. A while ago, I gave my number to a removal number and now I am getting more junk faxes than ever." What options are there for dealing with this? If you've also had this problem, what did you do and how effective was it in stopping unwanted faxes?

Get with the times

[Anonymous Coward]

And get rid of your fax machine!

Receive faxes to computer, then print

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd be surprised if there's not a fax machine with this capability already.

Get Rid of it.

[Drexus]

We had junk faxes to the amount that it represented 90% of what it was used for. Then we got rid of it. If they can't email it, mail it, or call us. Then we don't want their business.

Sue.

[i kan reed]

I imagine if you put your fax number on the "do not call" registry, there's some legal compunction not to perform any sort of unsolicited transactions using that number.

I hope you don't pile on to those

[artifex2004]

Also, you could publish their phone/fax number on the Internet. I've seen forums that where this is done, and it becomes kind of a DOS attach against businesses who appear to ignore the DNC list in their telephone spaming.

How do you know the submitter is not a competitor or otherwise has malicious intent? Let the law handle it, don't do the same thing you're accusing them of doing. What's the difference between you? Intention means nothing when the actions are the same.

Simple

[kmsigel]

My fax machine is only turned on when I'm sending a fax. If somebody wants to send me something they must do it through email.

Nice urban legend

[zoikes]

Nice idea, but it never happened... i defy you to find a usable fax number on any of the junk faxes you receive.

Another story in a similar vein is slapping those business-reply-by-mail envelopes on a brick -- recepient pays ALL necessary postage. :)

hit em back

[matsenerd]

My favorite technique is to respond with a "Do not call" fax, but make it white text on a black background. It will use up a lot of their toner and it gets the point across.

Re:Get Rid of it.

[hazem]

That's my thought exactly. Who really uses faxes any more anyway? It's about as relevant as an 8-track...

In fact, I'm highly annoyed anytime I have to actually send a fax. My company's tuition reimbursement vendor requires faxes.. but get this... you have to go on the website to fill out and create a PDF form that you then download, print and fax back to them. And of course, when I go to use the stupid machine, its out-tray is filled with junk faxes.

Who needs this crappy technology from the 70s anyway? Especially when it costs so much. Like you said, email, mail, or call.

If it weren't the only way to get my tuition forms, I would never fax. It's the only thing I've faxed in years.

Re:hit em back

[cskrat]

For all the suggestions that eating their toner is a nice way to retaliate.

I seriously doubt it. They are most likely using an auto-dialing script on a PC fax-modem so that they can cut out the cost and hassle associated with having a live person man the fax machine feeding it junk all day. And if you can actually get through to send a fax in the 1/2 second between numbers on the script, your fax will either be deleted, ignored or treated as a confirmation that your number works without ever going to paper.

You can bet these spammers have put more thought into what you can do to them than you have and have even experienced attempts at retaliation from other persons like minded to yourself. As such don't expect them to be vulnerable to such naive attempts at breaking their system. The best recourse is going to be either changing your number, setting up electronic reception of faxes or contacting relevant and credible legal authorities.

Re:I hope you don't pile on to those

[fredklein]

Intention means nothing when the actions are the same.


Bullshit.

Let's take a simple situation: Man 'A' pulls out a gun and shoots man 'B'.

You mean to tell me there is no difference between the following scenarios:

1) Man 'A' is mentally disturbed, and not taking his medication. He thinks man 'B' is an alien. Man 'A' pulls out a gun and shoots man 'B'.

2) Man 'A' is a cop. He sees a punk (man 'B') beating up an old lady. he tells 'B' to dtop. 'B' reaches into his pocket and yells "I'll kill you, pig!" Man 'A' pulls out a gun and shoots man 'B'.

3) Man 'A' is a punk. He's beating a little old lady when a cop (man 'B') shows up. Man 'A' pulls out a gun and shoots man 'B'.

Re:Solution

[Ucklak]

And using black tape to use toner that covers more than 5% of the paper isn't???

Sorry but most thermal faxes worth half their weight have a high temp cutoff.

Yield for a toner based printing device is based upon 5% of coverage per page.

Re:Solution

[DarkFencer]

I'd imagine these Fax Spammers are using computers with modems to do the dialing so if a fax is 'sent' back to them (assuming they even receive faxes) they will probably go into the bit bucket - not cause an actual printout.

Re:Get with the times

[turbidostato]

"And get rid of your fax machine!"

That's the right answer after all.

The head says that fax is a problem for the poster because it costs him money, not like e-mail spam. That means to me he doesn't count his time as money.

I'll make the assumptions that his "fax costs" come from paper and ink and that he owns at least a PC (or else he wouldn't mention e-mail spam). Well, then the answer is easy: don't use paper and ink. There're aplenty of "fax in your computer" solutions so you will see the fax on your computer screen prior to print it (if there's still the need to print it).