Verizon Bloclking Webmail from Overseas

[bardietz]

Over the past four days, I have spent two hours on the telephone with two different Verizon employees as well as engaging in two long chats about the same problem.

I am told by Jet, an escalation specialist in Verizon's Syracuse, NY, Fiber Solutions Center that webmail cannot be used from overseas and that this has been Verizon's policy since the beginning of 2015.

I expressed incredulity at this. First, I can access my wife's webmail from overseas. Second, the error message that I get has to do with Verizon wireless, which has nothing to do with webmail. Third, no one else at Verizon seems to know about this problem. Fourth, I was able to access my webmail for four weeks from overseas this summer and for two days from the same ISP late last week.

Is is really true?? Can this really be Verizon's policy?? Of what use is a ISP that cannot provide webmail??

Who do I complain to as Jet tells me that there is no one beyone him to whom I can complain.

[tns2]

The policy is worded differently but yes lots of people have problems with overseas email.  see below for policy.

http://forums.verizon.com/t5/Verizon-net-Email/Email-Access-Overseas/td-p/744863

"Additionally, we have implemented measures to prevent future unauthorized access attempts which may affect your ability to access your Verizon.net email from locations outside the U.S. If you experience difficulty reaching your Verizon.net email account, you can always access it online at mail.verizon.com or through the Verizon My FiOS app for mobile devices. For further information see the Verizon Webmail FAQs."

[bardietz]

Actually, this policy (which I have already looked at) does not actually say what Jet said. The policy does not say that all overseas access to webmail is blocked.

Of what use is it to have a Verizon email account if it cannot be accessed from overseas??

Sounds to me like a policy that is meant to encourage Verizon users to move their account to another ISP. When I get back to the US, I certainly will do so.

What sort of policy is this?? Verizon is incapable of handling security when webmail comes from overseas IP addresses? Is Verizon a grade school child? Credit cards deal with these problems through advanced notifications from their customers of overseas trips. Verizon (one of the largest corporations in the world) cannot think of a way to deal with these problems other than destroying the usefulness of webmail to its customers? This is more than pathetic.

Nothing can be done by Verizon to allow me (and evidently others) to access webmail from overseas??

PLEASE, GIVE ME A BREAK.

What is an email or telephone number for Verizon corporate to which I can complain??

[bardietz]

Also, the alternative set out in the policy of using an alternative means of accessing online DOES NOT WORK. The only thing Verizon can suggest is to use a smart phone or tablet overseas.

[LawrenceC]

Hi bardietz,

Your issue has been escalated to a Verizon agent. Before the agent can begin assisting you, they will need to collect further information from you. Please go to your profile page for the forum and look at the top of the middle column where you will find an area titled "My Support Cases". You can reach your profile page by clicking on your name beside your post, or at the top left of this page underneath the title of the board.

Under "My Support Cases" you will find a link to the private board where you and the agent may exchange information. The title of your post is the link. This should be checked on a frequent basis, as the agent may be waiting for information from you before they can proceed with any actions. To ensure you know when they have responded to you, at the top of your support case there is a drop down menu for support case options. Open that and choose "subscribe". Please keep all correspondence regarding your issue in the private support portal.

[bardietz]

Let me summarize what I have learned from two hours on the telephone with Verizon techs and five or six lengthy email chats, including private forum chats. First, depending on what Verizon rep you talk to, you get two different versions of what Verizon's policy is on overseas connections to email and webmail. Everyone agrees that email is blocked; some reps think webmail is also blocked. Evidently, V has decided that it will not allow access from foreign ISP addresses to email and (perhaps) webmail. I will put to one side what I think of this policy.

As to the lack of access to email and webmail, all that Verizon can suggest is using the FIOS app instead. This, of course, would involve you buying one or the other and spending more. If, like me, you have only a laptop, then there is nothing that Verizon can do for you. The most that the V techs could offer other than purchasing another device  was to request another department at V to whitelist the particular IP address I was using. As IP addresses change with changes in routers as you travel or even with a single router if it goes off and on and used dymamic addresses, this is not much use. I assume from this comment by the V techs that V blacklists all overseas servers, including servers run by BT, the largest UK telecom company.

As I can access the primary account from webmail but not the subaccounts from webmail, this may be a problem only for subaccounts.

In addition, when V does not allow access to webmail from a subaccount, it confuses the subaccount's attempt to access webmail as an attempt to sign into wireless service. I gather from one V tech that V now uses its wireless servers and that the handoff from the wireless sever to webmail should be invisible. Sounds to me like there is a programming problem at the wireless server level.

There are work arounds that folks have suggested on the forums such as forwarding all your email to Google Mail or Hotmail. This, of course, has its own problems, including deleting your emails from the V server. In addition, it does not appear possible to forward subaccount emails.

The bottom line is that Verizon is not willing to provide international email or webmail connectivity except through a limited set of devices. I got no sense after ten hours or so of contact with various V techs if V is revisiting these policies. I would like to hear from someone at V if it intends to keep the current set of customer unfriendly policies. If it does, then I need to find another ISP. I have neve been enamoured of Verizon but this international issue marks a new low as far as I am concerned.

Altogether, V seems to have a Donald Trump approach to this issue: keep those furriners out. That many of its customers might be among the furriners does not seem to bother V.

I am not interested in having this problem referred to a private forum; I spent two days dealing with techs in the private forums who had nothing useful to suggest.

What I would like is a clear articulation of Verizon's policy and whether there is any consideration of changing this policy.to be more friendly to international travelers.

If there is not a corporate reconsideration underway, then I will be taking my $2,500 of business per year elsewhere.

[tns2]

Verizon was massively hacked from Overseas.  As you found out their response was to cut off most access except through their App and possible their website.

[bardietz]

If I understand correctly, this hack occurred over a year ago.

In 12 months Verizon can't figure out what to do?

It would be like a bank being hacked and then telling its customers that they can no longer get their money.

What details are there about this hack?

A quick and dirty Google search shows nothing relevant for late 2014, when this hack must have occurred.

[bardietz]

One additional thought: I can access my bank accounts and credit cards from overseas.

Surely, if these financial institutions can deal with access from overseas, which could lead tomassive  financial fraud, then Verizon can deal with access from overseas.

Verizon is in the business of  being an ISP. None of the financial institutions that provide accounts to mefrom overseas are in this business yet they provide superior customer service.

As it is not even clear what the alleged massive hack at Verizon led to (lots of spam? financial fraud?), the justification provided by Verizon makes little or no sense.

[tns2]

Verizon itself is reluctant to give details.  A initial hack was widely reported in 2012 when millions of accounts were said to have been hacked and a dump of hundred of thousands was seen.  But then later some overseas hackers apparently started using either this info or other info to cause people accounts to lock up  The outcry about lack of access was very loud especially on Verizon Website.  Verizon did tell everyone to change there password and did at that point change to a more complicated logon scheme (which also caused complaints) that envolved using their Wireless Website for non-wireless signons.

The notes about overseas access appeared shortly thereafter when users found they were having trouble accessing from overseas.

[bardietz]

Interesting detail. Thanks.

I am wondering if I need to create a wireless account in order to have access to my webmail from overseas.

As a subaccount holder, I have never registered with Verizon.

Is that what is necessary in order to use webmail overseas??

If so, no one at Verizon in about seven to ten hours of telephone calls and chats every mentioned this.

The Verizon website continues to state that overseas webmail access is possible.

For me, it has been impossible.

[JCWPV]

I travel to Puerto Vallarta Mexico and had the same problem last February through March.  I use POP mail to my laptop when traveling and when I get home I like to down load my mail to my desk top.  As of last year I was unable to manage my mail via webmail, I was blocked out using a Windows Surface RT.  I had to call a friend in the US to go in and elete what appeared to be not essential mail.  He had to do that three times for me.

I am planning to be doing the same trip this year and Verizon has said that if I use the FIOS App from my new Windoes Surface 3 or my smart phone, I should be able to manage my webmail.  I am reluctant but my only choice.

They said if I had problems to call 1-800-837-4966.  That will be expensive from Mexico.  I hope my Skype account will work.

If anyone is in Mexico, can you let me know if the FIOS APP works?

[aus4tmg]

Does anyone know if the FIOS App works in Ireland & the UK?