Those who see fax machines as an obsolete technology would be surprised to learn faxing is still a vital part of major industries. Stories about crucial faxed documents and fax communications often work their way into the media fax news and sometimes the details are quite bizarre. Here are four recent strange and funny fax stories and incidents:
1. A man uses a fax machine to break out of prison
Government institutions rely on faxes for reliability and security reasons. It is essential officials are able to actually lay their eyes on vital documents. Of course, this only works if they take the time to get a good look at the fax.
“It was one month before prison officials realized their mistake.”
This March, Metro published a story about an inmate who used a fax to get himself released from jail. Dogan Alagoz was incarcerated in a Turkish prison for drug trafficking. He had a cohort on the outside fax the prison a phony court order saying Alagoz had been acquitted. The fax included a fake phone number that could be called for verification. The approval of the fax and the voice on the other end of the fake number was all the prison needed to release Alagoz. It was one month before prison officials realized their mistake.
2. Send a fax, win a chance to meet Coolio
While fax machines are still being used in a variety of offices and industries, not many people believe you will find a fax machine in the modern home. This is precisely what the Milwaukee Bucks team was counting on last February.
Extra Credit, part of Fox Sports Digital, covered a rather unusual contest last year in which the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team offered the first 13 fans who faxed in their name, phone number and address the chance to meet Buck’s player Glen Campbell and musical artist Coolio. The response was so great, the Bucks had to send out a Twitter message asking for participants to be patient, as the number of incoming faxes was overloading their capabilities. Turns out faxing might not be as unpopular as the contest holders originally thought.
The chance to meet Coolio sent people rushing to their fax machines.3. Fax machines won’t stop calling
The average person is aware traditional fax messages are sent through the phone line. Most people have probably even picked up a landline and heard the digital static of a fax being sent to the phone by mistake. Last winter, a woman was receiving over a dozen fax machine calls a day.
ABC 15 in Phoenix recently aired the story of Anne Bruce, a Phoenix resident whose phone number was mistakenly printed as a doctor’s fax number on the doctor’s business cards. Fax machines are still widely used by medical professionals, and Bruce became all too aware of this as she was woken by fax machines calling her late at night and early in the morning. After weeks of constant ringing, the doctor’s office finally had the cards reprinted.
4. Sandwich company sued for sending faxes
Just like junk mail or Internet spam, junk faxes can be a nuisance. Unsolicited faxed messages are not only annoying, but they use up paper and ink for unwanted purposes as well. This is why a restaurant is being sued for sending customers coupons.
A Blimpie sandwich shop in New Jersey used a faxing service to send out thousands of faxes to promote its business. Blimpie is currently being sued for sending unwanted fax promotions to a local auto parts retailer.
“A restaurant is being sued for sending customers coupons.”
Law 360 featured the story and pointed to disruption of business and waste of materials as the primary cause of the lawsuit. This is not the first time junk faxes have lead to litigation and it will probably not be the last.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission provides steps on how to avoid these types of unsolicited faxes. To avoid the other bizarre consequences of poor fax communication examined in this list, utilize fax over the Internet programs. Fax from computer services eliminate wasted printer ink and paper. Using the Internet for faxing purposes would also prevent tying up phone lines and could speed up important fax communications. If one were to set up a faxing service in his or own home, it wouldn’t hurt the chances of meeting Coolio.
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