On Tue, 04 Nov 2003 07:00:32 GMT, "Daniel L. Belton"
wrote:

| Actually, all faxes are supposed to have the originating fax number in the
| fax header, but the junk faxes don't always have the correct information.


Wish this were so, but the FTC only requires that they have a toll
free number that can be called to remove your fax number from their
list.

Of the faxes I get, about 2/3rds have a working number. The rest
either have no number, a smartass answer on the other end -- "You have
reached our fax removal number. Good bye" -- or are busy for days on
end, or are out of service.

And calling the toll-free number and entering your fax number gets you
off only THAT company's list. You are still on the for-sale commercial
list.

Sometimes I get taken off a fax list for one type of fax from company
"A" but then get the same fax from company "B". Then the other day I
got one from a company with a UK return address and a US 800 number
for removal that didn't work.

And I have NEVER gotten a junk fax with a return fax number or
originating fax number on it. None of the ads I get want a response.

I did get one last week with a 900 number offering to take me off the
fax list for a $3.25 a minute telephone call that would take 3-5
minutes. This was the sole purpose of the fax -- petty extortion.

And I agree with another poster to this thread that sending back a
black page or 4 sounds fun, but the faxes are almost certainly sent by
computer, not by paper-driven office fax machines. Even if a junk
faxer was so stupid as to use a regular office fax to send their junk
fax, their machine would be running all the time sending faxes around
the country so you would never get through. So I doubt the stories of
sending back faxes. It sounds good but I doubt it works or even
happened.