Are you looking for an effective way to prevent fraudulent activity and spam messages from clogging up your business’s fax? If so, verifying fax numbers is the best method you need.
By validating or confirming a fax number that attempts to access your services, you can filter out potential threats before they even have a chance of spamming you for the long term. Get all the details in this article.
What Is Fax Number Verification?
Fax number verification is a process of confirming the accuracy and validity of a fax line. By doing this, you establish more efficient communication with clients and improve your overall fax communications. Going through this procedure allows you to:
- Avoid miscommunication due to incorrect fax numbers
- Lessen the wasted time due to bounced faxes, and
- Filter fax numbers that send spammy messages faxes to your system
Fax number verification aims to ensure your message, or fax document, gets to its intended recipient, improving the efficiency of your fax machine.
How to Verify Fax Numbers to Prevent Fraud and Spam
Before sending a document, it’s best to verify a fax number. There are two ways to do it.
Manual verification
This process is straightforward – it works when you send a test fax to the recipient using your fax machine. Listen for the characteristic fax tone to ensure the fax line is active. The other party must confirm if they received the fax you just sent. You may also require the recipient to reply and send a fax to your number to ensure you both can check that your numbers are working correctly.
Manual verification may seem laborious as you need to check each recipient if their fax number works. It’s also costly because there’s a consumption of paper and ink. A dedicated employee can do this mechanical task.
However, you will benefit from this process, such as reducing errors and improving customer trust. When your contacts see you seriously checking information, you show them you are serious about conducting business.
Online databases
Another way to verify a fax number is via online databases. It’s faster, cheaper, and more efficient than manual verification. Moreover, this method ensures the smooth running of your fax transmission process.
Visit a particular website like 411.com and enter the fax number, which contains all the fax numbers in the United States. The website will provide information as to who owns the fax number.
The Reverse Fax Number Lookup Google Chrome extension works the same. Install it on your browser, which will help you find who owns a particular fax number.
Risks of Fraud and Spam in Fax Communications
Fax communications are not spared from fraudulent activities and spamming. Here’s what you need to know about the risks associated with them.
1. Financial loss
Although often considered a more secure method of sending sensitive information than email, faxes are not immune to interception and fraud. As technology advances, so do the means by which hackers and fraudsters exploit it.
One of the major reasons financial loss occurs in fax communications is unauthorized access to sensitive information. In some cases, such as with businesses that send a high volume of faxes containing financial information, unsecured fax lines become vulnerable to criminals looking to exploit gaps in security.
The Nigerian 419 scam is a good example. This scam involves fraudsters sending faxes and emails to individuals or businesses. The sender claims they have access to a large sum of money that requires help to be released.
The recipient, hoping for a substantial reward, is subsequently asked to provide their bank account details or send a processing fee. Upon complying, the victim ends up losing a significant amount of money or experiences unauthorized withdrawals from their account.
2. Identity theft
Sent faxes are often left unattended in fax machine trays or disposed of carelessly, granting unauthorized individuals easy access to valuable data. With the lack of security measures and protocols in data management, they leave themselves open to fraudulent activities.
Fraudsters use a variety of tactics to exploit the vulnerabilities of fax communications. One common method is impersonating legitimate businesses or organizations and sending phishing faxes to unsuspecting recipients.
These faxes often request sensitive information, such as bank account numbers, credit card details, or Social Security numbers, under the guise of a legitimate business transaction.
Say a fraudster may pose as a bank representative. It can send a fax to a victim requesting account information to “verify” the recipient’s identity. If not careful, the recipient might believe she’s communicating with a bank representative but has given all the bank details that can be used for wire transfers.
3. Security breaches
One common approach is “war dialing,” in which an individual uses a computer program to dial a series of phone numbers to identify connected fax machines.
Once a machine is located, the fraudster can:
- intercept communications
- gather private information, or
- send false faxes to recipients
- pose as company representatives and trick employees into providing valuable data
You can implement several security measures to avoid these situations. The initial step is to secure the physical location of fax machines, ensuring that only authorized individuals can access the device.
For organizations that require a more robust security solution, transitioning to a digital fax service can be a potential alternative. These services use modern encryption methods such as 256-bit encryption and SSL and additional security measures with 2FA for logins to reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
Benefits of Verifying Fax Numbers
The simple yet beneficial practice of verifying a fax number is indispensable for any business. Here’s why you should do it when you have new contacts.
1. Enhanced accuracy and reliability
Businesses often rely on fax machines to send critical documents, such as contracts, invoices, and personal information. Verification reduces the risk of sending sensitive information to the wrong recipient, which could lead to potential security breaches or lost business opportunities. Listening to the distinct fax tone can also provide additional assurance that your document is being sent to a legitimate fax machine.
2. Reduced wasted resources
This can help to prevent wasted resources such as time, paper, and ink while mitigating potential security risks. You can avoid duplicate transmissions and unnecessary use of office resources.
3. Improved delivery rates
High delivery rates are critical when sending important information, especially when faxing by volume. If a fax number is not verified and is incorrect, there is a chance that the information will not reach the intended recipient. This can potentially cause disruptions in business operations and wasted time trying to rectify the issue.
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You will benefit from secure document sharing, automated technology processing services, and an easily integrated system for your business needs.
Having a unique fax number with no hidden charges or fees can establish the credibility of your business while saving you time and money in the process.
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