Junk faxes [Warning: Hobbyhorse loose]

[Hitcher]

Another thing that REALLY irritates me is the junk fax.

A few years ago when I was plying my trade as a self-employed consultant, I succumbed to Telecom's sultriness and took a Yellowpages™ listing. Big mistake! Over four years I got about two calls from people who were interested in doing business with me and about 4.5 gazillion subsequent calls and faxes from people wanting to sell me shit or waste my time.

Despite it being a couple of directories since my ad last appeared, I still get junk faxes.

Now if people want to waste their time and money getting stuff printed, pounding the pavements and shoving in my letterbox, that's one thing. While it's inconvenient emptying our letterbox up to twice a day (Sundays and Tuesdays are worst), I console myself that this is at their cost.

But junk faxes are at my cost! It's my hard-earned, tax-paid income that provides the paper and toner for these anonymous parasites to consume as they see fit. Not to mention a FaxAdvantage cost of 99 cents a fax...

The fuckers are so ashamed to reveal themselves they stoop to a myriad of techniques to disguise their identities -- from having a blank CSID to a range of more devious methods. And they probably think they're in the "direct marketing" business!

The reason for Hobbyhorse number 621 being unbridled and out of the gargre on an afternoon as lovely as this is because (in case you hadn't guessed) I have just received a junk fax.

It is from an organisation of unknown parentage or location. It is urging me to ring a message service (at a cost to me of 12 cents) to register for a pack from which I can apparently learn how to earn from $1000 to $7500 a month in "the comfort of my home".

There is also a web address noted where I can visit -- www.athomecareer.info

This is not the first such fax I have received from these purilent syphillitic exudates. I have endeavoured before to find out who or what is behind this scam -- with no success. The web site is a dead end (as you will observe if you follow the above link), it is registered to a cover organisation, and I am buggered if I'm going to invest 12 cents to talk to a machine!

If anybody has any knowledge of who is behind this racket, please let me know. I will be delighted to canter up on HH621 and drive a stake through what passes for their heart!

[Riff Raff]

I realy hate those companies that try to send faxes in the middle of the night. When I'm on night shift and have the rare opportunity of catching a few zzz's quite often we're woken by the hotline ringing (it's very loud as it rings throughout the whole station). Now we have to answer this line because it's usually Comms calling, so one of us poor bastards has to haul carcass out of bed and answer it, only to get the beeping noise of a fucking fax. So you hang up, and half an hour later it rings again, and continues to do so for the rest of the night. Aaaaaaaaaaaargh

[Jackrat]

It's Herbal life.
Yes they are all those things you said,what ever they are.
I've had dealings with them,I just call them bastards.

[Motu]

Being in business I get one fax relavent to me out of one roll,so I stopped putting a roll in the machine - if you want to send me a fax you ring first.But now I got a plane paper fax - but the bastart has a memory! When I load the shute,the thing churns out spam fax after spam fax! I heard a good trick was to send them a sheet of black paper,over and over - but first you have to find who sent it,they cover their tracks,and if you do their fax never picks up or is engaged.

[bluninja]

I was a member of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce for a year.....sadly left it so they could communicate with me via fax......removed it after a few months cos most of my faxes came from them inviting me to various seminars and events that would help my business (for a fee).

You could always hook up your PC on a fax modem and only print the faxes that take your fancy.

I always wondered if I could send a return fax informing them that further use of my office equipment for running their business would result in a charge of $50 to cover equipment, handling, administration and billing them. I know this approach has been used by some individuals and companies to combat cold calling (particularly in the US...of course) and would think this would also apply to faxes....though proving that they read and received your fax may be difficult.

[ching_ching]

purilent syphillitic exudates

I know it's something horrible... but what the hell is an "exudate" Hitcher? :spudwhat: (too lazy to find my dictionary)

[Hitcher]

I know it's something horrible... but what the hell is an "exudate" Hitcher? (too lazy to find my dictionary)

Try www.dictionary.com

[riffer]

I always wondered if I could send a return fax informing them that further use of my office equipment for running their business would result in a charge of $50 to cover equipment, handling, administration and billing them.

Geoff Palmer wrote an article about this very thing in PC World magazine about a year ago. He had a similar problem with a home fax machine that was constantly getting bombarded with junk faxes rom Baron Marketing.

To cut a long story short, their response was fuck off or we'll set our lawyers on you for fraudulent invoicing.

[Jamezo]

Geoff Palmer wrote an article about this very thing in PC World magazine about a year ago. He had a similar problem with a home fax machine that was constantly getting bombarded with junk faxes rom Baron Marketing.

To cut a long story short, their response was fuck off or we'll set our lawyers on you for fraudulent invoicing.

ah, good old Geoff Palmer, always fighting for people's rights, but he completely freaks me out!

[vifferman]

If the person spamming you is a member of the DMA, then you can (in theory) contact the DMA, and ask for your details to be removed from their database and instead be put on the Name Removal Register.

http://www.dma.co.nz/Story?Action=View&Story_id=208

[Hitcher]

If the person spamming you is a member of the DMA, then you can (in theory) contact the DMA, and ask for your details to be removed from their database and instead be put on the Name Removal Register.

If I knew who was behind the fax in question there would be many available paths of reprisal open to me.

[curious george]

I think Baron Marketing has a lot do do with shit like this.
http://www.pcworld.co.nz/PCWorld/PCW...ocument&Click=
is the article from the afore mentioned PC mag, you can get Barons address form there if you were to decide on any action...................

[Jess]

we get junk faxes here at my work...i phoned the number on one of them once and asked for the free product they were offering...that was like 3 months ago and they are still calling to ask if i like it and if i want to buy the full version, and sending even more faxes. i have told them we dont want it so MANY times - never encourage them...

[Motu]

Not to mention spam email - I get a shit load of this,every known penis enlarger,plus I get to watch hot young babe suck big black cock,just what I need when I start up my computer in the morning.I thought I got rid of that stuff on my reformate - but the other day I got a request receipt pop up,and like a dummy clicked because I saw an email from someone I knew - so it's started all over again...grrrr.

[Rainbow Wizard]

I agree with everything you've said HH, I have the same problem and for the free replies I pretend to be one or more of the bastards that's abused the privelege, hence they get similar tripe delivered to them.

However I do object to you misquoting James Taylor, and he & I would appreciate you changing your brackets to read [paraphrasing James Taylor]. How about it bud, there's more'n one HobbyHorse out there.