A method for tracking facsimile jobs may be employed to examine, at an originating device, an incoming facsimile transmission for information indicating that the transmission originated at the originating device, in which case the incoming message is determined to be a return message which is the result of an error condition. In a preferred embodiment, a return message so determined is not printed, whereas other types of incoming messages are determined to be valid for printing and are processed accordingly. Further, certain incoming messages that are detected as representing "round-trip jobs" are distinguished from return messages and the former are considered valid for printing.