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Stopping Overseas Fax Spam?
iotashan asks: "Likely for most businesses, unsolicited faxes have become quite a problem. They needlessly use up toner and paper, and are usually just scams anyway. Specifically, we are receiving faxes from a company called Flamingo Travel. Now, they appear to bug business across the US, and some innocent parties are falling victim. I have used their automated system for having my fax number removed, to no avail. Is my only weapon having a bunch of friends call this 800 number to make the company's overseas toll-free phone bill unbearable?"
"The latest fax listed a number to call to take advantage of the offer (800-328-9795), so I called it and asked to be removed. The woman took down my number, but rather smugly told me that they are in England so they do not have to obey the US unsolicited fax laws. She wouldn't provide me with any other company information, and then stopped answering calls from my number after repeated hang-ups. The FCC says that it is a civil matter, and to go through the courts. The Fax Preference Service in the UK says they cannot help people outside the UK. Do I have nowhere to turn except an expensive lawyer, armed with no information about the company?"
sorry to spoil it for you all but cant it wait until morning? its like 11:26PM over here. there will be no one in that office!!
D'OH!
How many computers are too many?
This looks like an urban legend that got on /. The phone number listed above goes to a similarly named company with a different story. Flamingo Travel. They say the offending company is in Florida. Wait to get the full story before you set up your war dialers...
My user number is prime. Is yours?
A couple of karma-whoring things...
Number 1 : Free World Dialup
Number 2 : Why are you still using a fax machine? Get a cheap computer up on some fax software and you can auto-filter your faxes. Not to mention the savings you'll get from not using any toner. Then just lazer print anything worth keeping.
There is a Google cache here, however.
Maybe this is the over-seas company doing the faxing? I don't know, I can't read Russian , so I can't verify if the company discussed in the article is the same as this one.
Oh and BTW the number for the company that is doing the faxing is 1-800-328-9795 for those who don't want to RTFA.
There are a few free long-distance fax networks out there. Some or all of the members have a phone line, and faxes are sent online to someone who's computer can dial the number locally.
As a result you may receive both legitimate and spam faxes from the same number. Most companies will send faxes directly over the phone, but individuals or thrifty small businesses have a fair chance of sending them by either method.
Since they're spamming, they're probably not paying long distance charges.
-H
I checked on the guy who posted this.. there's really no history of him posting anything on slashdot prior to this--
iotashan
Seems like a banner click thru scam, but this time it's with a 1-800 number. Brilliant.
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
Who the hell uses a fax machine anymore anyways???
Normal businesses and people, that's who.
When an editor wants to send back a marked-up piece of copy, they do it by fax. Any real editor in the world will tell you that you don't edit online. You do it with proofreaders' marks, circles, arrows, writing in between lines, etc.
If you are, or are dealing with, a lawyer, a real-estate agent, or anyone who works with contracts, you exchange the contracts via fax. (Typing your name in e-mail doesn't count as a signature.)
The business world still relies on faxes because they work better than e-mail for many purposes.
Most people don't have sheetfeed scanners, so they can't put a 15 page document in their scanner and just walk away. They have to feed it page by page, so don't even bother with the use-a-scanner-and-e-mail-it line.
If you're reading this, dial 1-800-328-9795. One call won't hurt.
Or will it? Now that you've called them, they have your phone number -- ANI displays your number even if you block caller id from being sent. Because you called them, likely from your home number, doesn't that consitute a business relationship with them? Perhaps now you'll start getting tons of phone calls to your number, and they won't be unsolicited.
The best thing is to write down the number and take it with you. If you happen to pass by a phone booth (or hotel courtesy phone, or...) on the way to lunch or something, pick it up and make the call.
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
However, spammers always lie - if they're using an 800 number, there's a high probability that it really _is_ in the US, and they're just claiming to be in England to make you go away. Or the 800 number could be going to a VOIP box in the US which connects them to a call center in the UK. So trace the call - at least with callerid, if nothing else (though that's often inaccurate) and see if you can find out where it's from. If the call is coming in on a direct analog phone line, you can also use one of the phone company features like *69 or your local telco's call tracing versions to check further.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Did a search to see if I could find any additional information and found that Flamingo Travel has incorrectly had calls going to their number. They have their front page modified to point people to the correct number as other posters have listed. They also have this link to fcc.gov for filing complaints against unwanted faxes.
Sounds like some people have hit the wrong target.
Ok finaly a subject I know something about. My background is that I repair fax and copiers for a major Chicago copier dealer. I am curently trained on over 25 models of fax and 20 multi function or fax/copier/printer all in ones.
First off most faxes have whats called a junk or spam fax number blocking list. You will have to read how to access it for your fax , but they all have it. Simply add the number to the list and no more faxes will come your way from them.
Second if you want to pay this person back I have a way designed to hurt someone bad. Simply make 5 copies with the lid up on a copier, this will give you 5 black sheets. Next tape them end to end . Put tape on the end of the long black strip. Insert it in your fax and dial the number. As the lead edge comes through the scaner tape the lead edge with the tape on the end creating a loop. Leave this send for 5 or 60 mins.
On the other end black sheets will pour out and will not stop. If done on a thermal machine the print head is toast. Best to do it in the middle of the night as no one will be there to unplug the fax.
I trust Microsoft as far as I could comfortably spit a dead rat
Be careful, calling an 800 number may cost you $$l lfre e.htm
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/tmarkg/to
They are based in Florida.
do a Google search on the 800 number.
Found them in the BBB under the following:
FLAMINGO TRAVEL
2137 N Courtenay Pkwy Ste 23
Merritt Island, FL 32953
Local Phone Number: (321) 454-9070
Fax Number: (321) 452-0606
TOB Classification: Travel Agencies & Bureaus
According to the website provided by Slashdot:
They are coming from a company in Florida calling themselves Flamingo Travel... they sell time shares.
-B
For academic purposes only. Know the laws of your state.
First, you'll need a credit card number.
Visa numbers are constructed like this like this:
Start with the digit 4
16 digits altogether
The checksum they must pass is:
Take the even digits, double them, and add the resulting digits together to get a new digit. (or just map 0-9 to 0246813579 for the even digits).
Then add all the digits together. If it's a multiple of 10, the card number is valid. A quick way to generate would be to start with 4 plus 14 random digits, calculate the checksum of those 15 digits, and subtract from 10 to get the remaining digit.
Their machines will initially accept them, and be forced to contact visa to verify their correctness, at which time they'd fail, but result in small charges to their merchanct account. Enough bad card numbers can get an account suspended.
Evidently this Flamingo Travel has been getting complaints about the one sending spams and it is affecting their business as well. A message is at the top of their website saying it is a different Flamingo Travel.
What am i missing here?
Never mind VoIP; you're missing the incredibly cheap cost of international POTS calls originating from the UK. I can get 1 penny per minute (~1.6c/min) as an end-user to make calls to the USA (and Australia, France, etc). If I was a bulk business user, I'm sure I could get an even better price.
A bit un-related but the most annoying fax SPAM of all: getting Fax SPAMS on voicemail.
A friend had been getting faxes through voicemail for office supplies. I transferred what part of the fax that was on voicemail to a real fax machine. A complaint to the telephone company (Bell Canada) later and no more! The telephone companies usually take action pretty fast.
More than likely, the spammer will just end up sticking the phone company with the bill. If this effort generates enough traffic to actually make an impact on the spammer's finances, the spammer will probably be able to point to a malicious /. thread and get the phone company to absorb the charges.
/.ers dial away, about 1 out of every fifty calls is dinging an innocent bystander. (assuming that there are innocent people who have 800 numbers.)
The other innocent group getting hit right now are people who have phone number similar to the spammer. As fat fingered
It costs the recipient $0.25+ for each call from a payphone. Hit'em where it hurts.
"To those who are overly cautious, everything is impossible. "
Is my only weapon having a bunch of friends call this 800 number to make the company's overseas toll-free phone bill unbearable?
Do remember that the recipient of an 800 call gets your phone number reported to them.
Calling from a pay phone will prevent you from receiving phone-spam (or legal) retribution.
In the US, calling from a pay phone has an additional benefit: the recipient is charged ~$0.35 per call to compensate the owner of the pay phone for the money you're not putting in. So if you don't get the information you need the first time, keep calling back until you do.
JunkBUSTERS has a good web page on dealing with junk faxes. They also have lots of good, practical advice on lots of other related communications abuses. This is a site that is well worth checking out.
Signatures are a waste of bandwi (buffering...)
It doesn't work that easily.
The idea is that the Telezapper (and devices like it) send out an SIT tone (the beeps that you get when you call a number and get the recording, "This number is not in service"). The telemarketing machines are supposed to recognize that and assume that the phone number isn't in service anymore (and thus, to avoid calling you again, which wastes time and money, remove you from the list).
At the telemarketing company I worked for about six years ago (*hangs my head in shame*), even though the computer did the dialing, we'd get to listen once the connection was made, no matter what is was. It was then up to me to determine whether to add that number to the bit bucket (for that list) or not.
So, depending on the setup the telemarketer has, it's easy enough to listen to the tone, and then wait for the person to answer the phone. Heck, I think that they have it automated by the dialing machines now.
-- Joe
I can't believe all you suckers! The fact is that not all 800 numbers are free. I expect in a month we'll have another /. story from people complaining that they were charged for those 3 hour long fax sessions.
You can still take them to small claims court. Keep in mind, you can recover $500 plus collection expenses. Thus it is $500 plus the cost of having the suit served in England and your court fees.
After you get a judgement (which you will do since they will most likely not show up), you can put a lien on any propety or bank accounts or other aspects of their business in the United States. You may even be able to approach Visa / Mastercard and attach a lien against their accounts. Furthermore, once you have a judgement, you should be able to pursue them across national lines due to the many treaties that are in place.
I sure would like to see their expression once they realize that yes, you can pursue them across national bounderies. -Art
So use a pay phone. It's safer anyway because toll free numbers always get your caller ID even if you block it. Plus they actually get billed a surcharge to receive calls from payphones.
I used to get serveral junk faxes every day. I called the phone company to modify the fax line configuration only to accept calls that presented caller ID information. This stopped all of the junk faxes.
http://www.flamingo-travel.com/Home/News.asp?ID=1
-----------------
We have been recieving phone calls from people angry that we are sending them fax specials like $99 to Disney and Kids Free. Please know that they are NOT coming from Flamingo Travel Group in Pennsylvania. They are coming from a company in Florida calling themselves Flamingo Travel. Their phone number is 1-800-328-9795 and they sell time shares.
800 number scams
Seems you need to agree beforehand to a billing arrangement or provide a CC # before you begin recieving 'services'.
We apologise for the fault in this post. Those responsible have been sacked. -- Signed RICHARD M. NIXON
A far better reason to use a pay phone is they are charged an access fee of $.40 or more for each call. So use pay phones and call them 10,000 times kinda ruins their VOIP savings.
-- To mess up an OS X box, you need to work at it; to mess up your Windows box, you just need to work on it.--
800 is always toll free. 899 or something like that might be a toll number. that is the scam you heard about.
Well, there's about a 1 in 10^13 chance of that happening for the actual number. Plus, you'd need to get the expiry date correct. Assuming a conservative 2 year window for month/year combinations, this makes it 24 times less likely you'd stumble upon a valid one. Oh, and not to mention the name wouldn't match. Suffice it to say I don't think you'd ever hit upon a valid credit card number with matching expiry in your lifetime.
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
At the risk of bringing my poor server to it's knees, or getting a huge bandwidth bill, here's a copy of the lastest spam fax: http://www.iotashan.com/spamfax.gif
Behold the glorious bragging rights
To save your server from that fate, I'll pseudo-transcribe the fax:
###
Disney Vacation (KIDS ARE FREE!)
4 Days
3 Nights
in Orlando
$99 per person
double occupancy
This Special Rate is Limited to the first 50 Purchasers Today!
{[Ask about our all inclusive 3 day 2 Night Cruise to the Bahamas!]}
INCLUDES: 2 Disney Tickets FREE!
Buy (Disney Vacation Package) get (Cruise Vacation Package) FREE!
BONUS: Daytona Beach 3 Days 2 Nights
Purchase Today and Receive Complimentary Air Voucher to Jamaica, Mexico or Las Vegas PLUS 2 Nights Accommodations!
1-800-328-9795
CALL NOW
LIMITED AVAILABILITY
Processing and accomodation fee not included. To have your fax number removed please call 1-888-211-8303 . Time share tour optional.
###
That was harder than it looks. The layout of that page is horrible.
Please tell me you did it with a fax modem, and didn't print those sheets out. Using 2-3 and taping them into a loop works so much better.
Yeah, it "works".
For $10 you can send a few thousand junk faxes, burn up a over a hundred dollars worth of toner and paper from the thousands of victimes, tie up thousands of fax machines blocking in-coming or out-going faxes for a while, and receive $15.
Of course those profits will vanish pretty damn fast when a couple of people file TCPA lawsuits in small claims court becuase those faxes are illegal. Not only do you need to show up in court for each suit filed, but each fax results in a minimum $500 fine. Of course each fax is almost guaranteed to actually be a double violation, and the damages are TRIPLE if the fax was not sent by accident (i.e. a genuine innocent wrong-number). So each and every junk fax is generally $3000 in damages if the judge fully enforces the law.
It doesn't matter HOW profitable junkfaxing is, just a handfull of such cases and you lose your house.
I suggest you tell your friend to do a quick Google on JunkFax penalties.
-
- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
First, a bit about UK law, which they do have to comply with if they are doing this from the UK. If you contact them directly and ask to be removed from their list, then they are committing an offense if they call you again.
The FPS is a UK-wide do not call list maintained by the Direct Marketers Association. All marketers are supposed to treat it the same as having called them directly to be removed from the list, but the only penalty for not following this seems to be a slap on the wrist and maybe getting booted out of the DMA. The DMA is not interested in enforcing the law, particularly against non-members.
Ultimately, enforcement is up to Ofcom and the Information Commissioner. If you do make a complaint, be sure to include the response you got from FPS, I'm sure they'd be interested to see how self-policing by the DMA really works.