How To Stop Fax Spam

Put an End to Junk Faxes

Your first thought might be to put your fax number on the "do not call list." But unfortunately, that won't help you stop fax spam. "Do Not Call" laws apply only to voice phone calls made to residential phone numbers. But there is a federal law designed to punish fax spammers.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Federal Communication Commission rules generally prohibit the sending of unsolicited fax advertisements. But there are some loopholes. Unfortunately, fax spam consisting of political or nonprofit advertisements is exempted from TCPA sanctions. So are fax ads sent by spammers to recipients with whom they have "an existing business relationship." The FCC rules define "existing business relationship" as follows:

"A prior or existing relationship formed by a voluntary two-way communication between a person or entity and a business or residential subscriber with or without an exchange of consideration [payment], on the basis of an inquiry, application, purchase or transaction by the business or residential subscriber regarding products or services offered by such person or entity, which relationship has not been previously terminated by either party."

Yes, it's confusing. Basically, you should avoid giving your fax number to anyone without a very good reason. Don't write your fax number on a request for quotation, membership application, or any other form unless you absolutely must receive a reply via fax. If you list your fax number in industry directories, add a note that you do not want unsolicited faxes.

Opting Out of Unwanted Faxes

The TCPA requires senders of unsolicited faxes to provide an opt-out method and describe it clearly on the first page of a faxed advertisement. The opt-out method may be a phone number, fax number, Web address, or email address. The opt-out method must be cost-free to the recipient, so any phone number should be toll-free or a local call. The opt-out method must be available 24/7. To opt out of fax advertisements, you must send a request noting the fax number from which the advertisements come using the prescribed opt-out method.

If you still receive fax spam you can file a complaint with the FCC online or by calling 888-225-5322. The FCC can issue warnings or citations to violators of the TCPA. You can also file complaints with your state and local consumer protection agencies, which are typically part of the State Attorney General's office. The TCPA also permits victims of fax spam to file civil lawsuits and claim $500 in damages for each unsolicited fax advertisement they receive. Such suits can usually be filed in small claims court; rules for filing vary from one jurisdiction to another.

A Better Solution: Online Faxing

The problem with all of these remedies is that they must be applied over and over, each time a new spammer gets your fax number and starts bombarding you with unwanted faxes. If you want to eliminate the problem entirely, move your faxing out of the dark ages. Wouldn't it great to eliminate your fax machine, all the expenses of the paper and toner, and the monthly cost of the fax line? Internet-based faxing makes it possible.

A fax-to-email service lets you receive all your inbound faxes right in your email inbox. From there, you can simply delete the ones you don't want. You only print the ones you DO want, eliminating the wasted paper and toner. You can transfer your fax line to an online faxing service, or let them assign you a new number, and drop your fax line entirely. Even better, my article Free Inbound Faxing will show you how to forward incoming faxes to your email for free. You can also send outbound faxes via the Internet. See my article Free Internet Faxing for details.

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