Phantom faxer taking toll on resident

It is my opinion that everyone who uses a fax machine should have to go to an expensive learning school and then pay a high license fee to operate their very expensive machine. (This might be something the federal government could harness to pay off the national debt.) Then, if this very smart setup gets my number in their program, maybe I could have their license taken away from them.

This is my reason: Starting in December of last year, every morning beginning about 5 or 6 a.m., my telephone would ring five times, eight or 12 minutes apart or so for a period of about 45 minutes. All I heard when I lifted the receiver was a “beep beep” sound. (No human being, not even one with a foreign-sounding accent.)

Last year (until I purchased caller ID at about $9 a month) I couldn’t find out who the caller was. When I did find out and called them, they said it wasn’t them and this wasn’t happening to me but they would delete it immediately. Three-and-a-half months later, it was deleted by just an odd fluke. Maybe. The electricity was off for about four hours.

This was all happening when I have a very ill member in my family, so leaving the received off the hook for a paid-for telephone or changing my number was not an option.

I was told that if I kept calling their number to ask them to please undo this problem that it only upset them and they couldn’t get their work done. So they switched their calls to their voice mail. Recorded voices don’t answer questions or understand the word delete.

This took 4,900-plus minutes of my time just answering the phone. Many hours were just spent in research.

Now, at the end of 2010, the same thing is happening but from a different number. My caller ID shows Private Number or Unknown Caller and a phone number. I don’t know anyone by these names (Remember, I pay for caller ID.)

When I call the number, the phone rings but no one answer. You know Unknown Number or Private Caller, please tell them to call me but no faxes please. However, if it is the lottery calling me, please let me know. In that case, I guess I can put up with it for a little while longer. But for right now, to me, this is very upsetting, annoying, intrusive and very rude.

I have already contacted the Better Business Bureau, Federal Communications Corporation, the telephone nuisance call number, the Federal Trade Commission, 411, the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office, the state Attorney General’s office, electronics experts, and lawyers’ offices. So far, none of them can tell me how I can easily undo this problem.

I was told I could hook up a fax machine to my phone. I have a hunch it would cost more than $9 per month. Besides, I’m afraid it would give a lot more fax hackers an opportunity to take a whack at me.

I have thought about asking the power company to shut off the power in my area for four hours again this year. It’s no fun to be upset all by myself. Just unplugging my phone doesn’t work.

I would appreciate any ideas. In the meantime, if it gets stopped, I would like to know how so I can be a jump ahead next time.

FRANKIE ROBERSON

Sagle