*Knocking on Wood*

A couple of months ago I wrote about some of the hassles I put up with after Bell South gave me a phone number that previously belonged to a local, disbarred lawyer.  Those calls to him dwindled over the last 3½ years, although I still get one from time-to-time.  What never dwindled were the calls from the "Fax Machine from Hell".  Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday between 9 and 10 AM my phone rings.  When I, or my machine, answer all I hear is a series of beeps.  I assume that the calls come from a fax spammer and are intended for the lawyer.  Evidently the fax machine, or more likely a computer, is programmed to redial twice if it can't get through because it always phones me twice more, at 10-minute intervals.  Then it gives up.  I don't have caller ID on the house phone so there is no easy way for me to find out who is calling (and anyway, the number is probably blocked).

It hit me yesterday that the fax machine hasn't phoned in the last two weeks.  I don't know if the spammer finally checked the national "Do Not Call" list, checked the phone bill and realized that I don't have a fax machine, or moved on to some other sleazy way of making a living.

Comments

[pops]

Or maybe the fax's owner finally read the manual to see what that "No Handshake" message meant.

My cell phone still gets a fax call about once a month. The cell's number used to belong to a woman anmed Susan who belonged to every possible type of Amway scheme known to man.

But I'll trade you your lawyer for the drunken booty calls from Susan's ex.

[Margaret]

We could take turns calling you at that time if you really miss it! We have some people who call about that time every Sat. and I hate them!!

[Susan]

I have had those problems also.
I solved them via caller ID, unlisted phone number,
call intercept, the Do Not Call list.
I still got the fax calls at 4 am from someplace in Canada. So I googled my phone number and found it as a fax number for a company nearby. One of these days I will call them and edify them on how they will get more business when they change their web page with the correct number!

[Light & Dark]

Hey, if it starts up again, just plug your computer's modem into the phone line with fax receiving enabled on Wednesday mornings between 9 and 10. Once you receive the fax and know who's calling, you can sue them for a tidy retirement fund ( I know... you're already retired) for violating the no-call list!