Faxing fiasco breaches client confidentialityGeoffrey Negus has received more than 70 faxes intended for a firm of solicitors - some of which give intimate details about clients' lives.

Senders must be more careful, he says.While almost all solicitors guard client confidentiality zealously, I suspect that few appreciate that careless use of fax machines can broadcast the most damaging and intimate information about clients.During the past three years, I have received more than 70 misdialled faxes meant for a firm of solicitors in the midlands, a few miles from where I live, the fax number of which is similar to my home number.

Many of the faxes were mundane: quotes from tradesmen, letters from building societies about conveyancing, menus from take-aways and - most entertaining - invoices from barristers.However, many concerned divorces and children and included personal details.

All gave full names and many also addresses.

Examples included one eight-page faxed application for a contact order and prohibited steps order by a father, separated and living apart from his wife, worried that his infant son might be taken abroad by the mother.Another included a draft referral to a psychiatrist/psychologist regarding a young man and a young woman.

The document included the statement: 'Both suffer from very obvious learning difficulties and there is a history of psychosexual behaviour exhibited by Mr X.

Although there is a conviction against Mr X from when he was 16, it is believed that he denies any of the more recent allegations of improper behaviour.'The most gruesome example was a 17-page statement by a mother opposing contact with her two young children by their father.

It gave a graphic history of the relationship and past access difficulties.

My reaction to seeing this depressing tale was outrage that anybody could be so carefree with such intimate material.

There was no obvious reason why it had been necessary to fax this document, rather than deliver it by hand.When I contact the senders of these faxes, the responses are varied.

Some are aghast, but most seem to care little about confidentiality.

Their reaction is usually something like, 'oh bother, I'll have to send it again'.

I also contacted the solicitors who should have been getting these messages.

They were horrified.

They apologised, pointing out that the fault lay with the senders, and undertook to contact senior partners at all the firms concerned.

Nevertheless, many of the firms that had misdialled faxes before have done so again on several occasions.The number of fax machines - in offices and homes - is increasing, according to industry sources, by 10% a year.

The proportion of fax lines to ordinary telephone numbers is also increasing.

Unlike overheard voice conversations, faxes are permanent records, often with full identification of the parties involved.

Fax cover sheets sometimes ask those who receive the message in error to alert the sender and destroy the fax, but such requests seem largely futile.

No amount of legislation will cure this problem; it is up to the users of fax machines to strive to protect the information entrusted to them.

As yet, few solicitors appear to appreciate that fax machines represent a security risk.

But some basic measures would minimise the risk of sending faxes to the wrong recipients:X Have a formal policy on what should and should not be sent by fax.

Why fax sensitive information locally if a despatch rider or office junior could deliver it in time?X Instruct senders to say the recipient's number out loud as they dial, making it a much more deliberate operation.X Review the quality of fax machines.

Older machines may not have the facility to store frequently used numbers or display the number dialled.X Do not programme messages to be automatically redialled.

If a number repeatedly refuses to accept a fax, it is probably incorrect.

If a fax machine is then installed in an attempt to stop the calls, your message will go astray.Geoffrey Negus is the press and public relations officer at the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors