Over the past few years, the internet faxing market has been continuously expanding. Digital faxing now makes it possible to send and receive documents without ever printing or scanning a single page. This is good news for businesses that must send urgent documents without having to deal with typical fax machines.
But is online faxing safe? When sending private information over the internet, this is a legitimate worry. You can be concerned about the security of sending documents using fax software or applications from cyberattackers’ prying eyes. There are, thankfully, methods for sending safe faxes online. Choosing the best online fax service for your company and learning how safe they are will be covered in this blog post.
Is Faxing Personal Information Online Safe?
One of the key factors contributing to the continued importance of faxing as a means of business communication is security. Telephone lines—not the internet—are used by fax machines to communicate. The ability of unauthorized people to access your confidential documents is impeded as a result.
Users should, of course, take further precautions to avoid unauthorized access to sensitive information by immediately archiving or destroying any hard copies they receive or send. In particular, this is valid if the document is disseminated utilizing equipment and resources that are available to the general public (i.e., a fax machine at a library or office services store).
Why Fax When I Can Just Attach the Documents to an Email and Hit Send?
Certainly, you could, but it is not advisable to use email for a number of reasons. Is sending a fax online more secure than email? Yes, in a certain sense.
You may have the danger of compromise. Email accounts are very easy to hack and compromise, making it possible for anybody to access your account and all messages and attachments. This is especially true if you use the same email address for several different online services and social media networks.
Not all email is encrypted. Your emails and attachments could still be read even if your account isn’t compromised. The actual content of the emails you send, such as the messages and attachments, is not encrypted and is therefore exposed even if Gmail from Google has robust security protections built in. You would require integrating a third-party solution that offers client-side encryption for added security.
Email is now being used with greater caution. According to security magazine CSO, email has emerged as one of the most common attack vectors, with email malware infections increasing by 600% from 2019 to 2020. As a result, email is becoming less and less popular among users on both the personal and professional fronts, particularly when handling sensitive material. They can classify it as spam or just trash it if you send essential papers to your recipients by email from an address they are unfamiliar with. As a result, opportunities may be lost and communications may be harmed.
Lack of delivery confirmation. Sadly, email does not offer delivery confirmation, so there is no way to be certain that your document reached its intended address. You would need to integrate a third-party solution into your email software to confirm that your sender opened it if you wanted to know whether the email was opened or not, similar to encryption.
Large files may fail to be sent. Furthermore, some documents may be quite large, take a little longer to send, and take up space in both your inbox and the recipient’s inbox. In fact, the transmission could fail because of the size of the document.
Decreased efficiency and organization of email. Compared with email, sending and receiving crucial papers by fax, whether online or offline, can increase productivity for both individuals and businesses. Documents are maintained distinct from email and cloud-based document-sharing systems (such as Google Docs, and Microsoft OneDrive), and they may be accessed more quickly and easily since they are kept in a single application.
Are Online Fax Services Secure When Faxing Personal Information?
Yes, personal information and delicate papers can be sent securely and conveniently with online fax services.
Your document is secured in transit when you send a fax through an online service like Fax to safeguard any confidential information it may contain. You receive faxes from people immediately in your Fax mailbox, where they are kept private and discreet.
How to Determine Whether an Online Fax Service Is Secure?
How is sending faxes online any better than sending them the old-fashioned way? The solution typically depends on the kind of internet fax service you are utilizing. In order to send faxes securely over the Internet, look for an online fax provider that encrypts all data, including image data like Fax.
Also, you need to ascertain whether the provider of the online fax service conforms with national and international regulations for data protection. For instance, verify your service provider complies with HIPAA if you are faxing documents that contain patient records. Additionally, make sure the businesses are reliable by looking at their privacy policies. Because many IT organizations specialize in strong and secure administration, several of these providers outsource the hosting of their websites, adding an additional degree of security.
How Popular Are Fax Machines or Fax Services?
A faxed document is regarded as valid and binding legal documentation in many areas, including the legal and medical fields. Instead of sifting through emails and attachments, some attorneys prefer working using faxes to create a paper trail for cases. Instantaneous fax communication can be used in court as a time-stamped piece of evidence.
Besides, sensitive patient data exchange in the healthcare industry is governed by the requirements of the Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act (HIPAA). Because of this, cloud-based document hosting and sharing services need to show that they comply with HIPAA in order for their clients—caregivers, hospital administrators, and patients—to use them.
Fax Features and Options
Fax typically provides a number of features in addition to the ability to send and receive faxes to improve their usability and security. You’ll discover the following notable functions and choices in Fax.
Local and Toll-Free Fax Numbers
Businesses can improve their local and national presence by using toll-free and local fax lines. This aids in business credibility building and client expansion. For instance, new clients might be hesitant to transmit sensitive files to an area code they are unfamiliar with. However, you can lessen some apprehension and uncertainty if you have a fax number with an area code specific to that new consumer group.
Enough Cloud Storage
Along with popular cloud storage services like Dropbox, iCloud, and Google Drive, the Fax mobile app supports these as well. This integration eliminates the requirement to first download documents from the cloud before uploading them to the fax application. All you have to do is download them from the cloud, add them to your fax message, and click Send. The operation is streamlined and security is really improved by not having to download and upload.
Electronic Signatures Capability
Users on computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones can rapidly sign faxes using the Fax electronic signature capability. Your recipients will avoid the hassle of having to print out and sign documents before sending them back to you this way. Additionally, this electronic signature function eliminates the requirement to use a third-party service in order to electronically sign significant papers. The inconvenience of installing a third-party program is avoided, and since most electronic document signing systems are not free, the cost is also decreased.
Cost-effective and Convenience
Compared to a conventional, physical fax machine, Fax is also more affordable and available. In many of our customers’ reviews, they express how much they value not having to bother about installation, phone lines, upkeep, ink cartridges, paper, or other supplies.
You also don’t need to worry about needing extra space for a desk, tabletop, or location for the fax machine. Just sign into your Fax account, send a fax, and you’ll receive a real-time notification when it’s received.
3 Options to Fax
There are three convenient ways to send and receive faxes using Fax. Through your Fax account, the Fax Messenger app, or email, you may send faxes right from your desktop.
Guidelines for Faxing Personal Information
Online fax providers provide further encryption, ensuring that your messages are completely secure during transit. Naturally, faxing isn’t secure if you’re not doing it safely, so we’ll go through some of the most crucial personal information you could have to send and provide advice to make doing so even safer.
Be careful with your credit card information.
Who you are giving your data to should be your top priority. To prevent the person on the other end of the line from using your credit card information to go on a spending spree, you must make sure you are sending to a business you trust. This might be OK in a secure office setting, such as a bank, but, if you can, make sure that someone is there to receive your message and properly dispose of it afterward.
Be careful with your social security number.
Never expose your Social Security number unless it is absolutely required. Identity theft may result from your number falling into the wrong hands. You don’t want to provide your Social Security to con artists who would be happy to take it, even though the faxing process is safe. You can check the fax number you’re using to submit your information online to be sure it belongs to the business you want to get in touch with.
Be careful with your tax documents.
Despite the fact that hackers would love to get their hands on all of your tax documents, they would either require a wiretap to listen in on your conversation or to be present when your message is received by the fax machine. In a similar vein, it’s crucial to ensure that your accountant’s workplace is secure if they require your tax documents. Make sure to fax your message with a confidential cover sheet if you are concerned about who will get it.
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