Would you feel comfy using an online fax service with your CC#?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m sending in a credit application to a reputable manufacturer of widgets that I plan on selling.
Page 3 of the 4-page application asks for my credit card number.
I’d planned on signing up for an online fax service like myfax.com or sendonlinefax.com, but I’m thinking that I should go ahead and fax this the regular way at my local printer/fax/copy shop.

Note that I have a scanner here, but no ‘plain old telephone system’ hookup here, so no fax machine.
So, small business folks, would you guys feel comfy sending this fax online or not?

2

Given the client fraud protections put in place by most card issuers and the unreliability of regular fax machines (interceptions, wrong numbers, etc) I would not be too concerned.

As an aside, you would not believe the number of legal/medical faxes that used to come in to our company fax as misdials. It was always good for a laugh. We were nice and shredded these as they came in but it was a stark reminder that faxing information is not at all secure.

3

I’d be more suspicious of the requirement for a credit card number. That’s not required for a credit check.

4

It’s not an abnormal requirement in the industry.
I wouldn’t be required to provide the CC# if I planned on paying after I got the product, but that isn’t my plan here.
The company in question sells product to Wal-Mart and Target, so I’m reasonable certain that they’re not looking to victimize my small business.
Don’t worry about my decision to buy from them; I’m buying a less popular line from them that isn’t carried by the majors. I’m not trying to compete with the big boys…

6

Reported

7

Fax? They won’t accepted a scanned document that is e-mailed to them? What do they sell, buggy whips?

8

Meh. I’ve done business with companies that, for whatever reason, require initial account setup to be faxed.

9

Probably by people who prefer illegible documents for some reason. Anyway, could the OP omit the CC number on the fax and then provide it over the phone?

10

In the days before the internet, I faxed my credit card number to overseas hotels and never had a problem.

11

I’ll be damned if I’m sending my CC# via email.

12

Just like any cloud service provider, the level of security from one online fax service provider to the next will vary significantly. In order to select a service with higher security, I would recommend using one that is HIPAA compliant (among other things, HIPAA outlines the set of standards required to transmit medical communications electronically).

Here is a list of services that are HIPAA compliant: FindAFax/internetfaxserivces (HIPAA)

14

Runner Pat, I’m a small business owner, I know a lot about online fax services and I’m quite familiar with online fax security. I’d say that qualifies me to answer this question. Happy to delete the link to the list of HIPPA compliant fax services, since I’m assuming that’s why my post was “spammy.”

Here is some further info re: the original post. Sendonlinefax.com isn’t even an active website. Although MyFax was a high quality service for many years, it has experienced several service outages in the last couple of years (most recently in January, 2013) and generated numerous complaints. I personally have a MyFax account (had it for 6 years) for my business, and I haven’t had any problems. I also use Metrofax (like MyFax, was recently aquired by j2 Global) for my personal fax line, and I like it as well. I really like their app.

15

Here’s what I would do. Put the first half and then a note, please call me for rest of the number.

16

In the U.K., I believe that at one point a fax was a legally acceptable document but an email wasn’t. I don’t know if that’s still the case.