Junk fax farewell.

Junk mail, fax-style, can get you in trouble. The federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (47 U.S.C. [section] 227) gives citizens the right to sue to stop future faxes, to recover monetary damages up to $500 for each unwanted fax, or both. If the court finds that the sender willfully or knowingly violated the law, awards can be increased up to three times the amount of damages.

Not all faxes, however, are against the law. Only "unsolicited advertisements" violate federal law. And beginning in July, the only way advertisements can be sent by fax is if the receiver has given written permission. The current "opt-in" requirements allow junk faxes if an established business relationship is present.

Other federal rules include the requirement that messages sent to a fax machine be clearly marked with the date and time the transmission is sent, the identity of the sender, and the telephone number of the sender or of the sending fax machine.

State lawmakers have passed a variety of laws that place restrictions on unsolicited faxes. For example, Arizona law requires that unsolicited commercial fax advertisements include the name, address, fax number or toll free or local contact telephone number of the vendor. And, both Minnesota (9point) and Tennessee (12-point) specify the font size required to be used in the text of unsolicited faxes.