Full Disclosure: [Fwd: Caveat Emptor: Verizon's email service and ol 'live' customer support challenges]

["Adam H. Pendleton" <fmonkey () fmonkey net>]

Observations from a Verizon customer (emphasis is mine):

-------- Original Message --------

> Recently switched to Verizon's dsl service. Following experience should be 
> noted by present and prospective Verizon email users.
> Today, after returning from a 2 day weekend away from downloading email 
> from the server, got a warning mesage that my inbox (which holds 30 meg!) 
> was close to being full.
> Reason: my 'spam filter box' -- which I had disabled as it is useless 
> --  held 24 meg! of mail (basically copies of my inbox). As my 'spam 
> filter box' which is supposed to automatically be cleaned out every 2 days 
> has not yet been cleared, I was close to my limit. As I get about 130 spam 
> messages every 12 hours! such double counting of incoming messages by 
> Verizon can quickly fill up most user's inbox and start bouncing messages.
> The warning suggested that I go to Verizon's web based email 
> (netmail.verizon.net) to delete unwanted messages. I did that.
> What I found when I went there was not comforting.
>
> Unlike Yahoo, and other popular web based email providers, Verizon does 
> not provide a 'secure' sign in option to its web based email system. Nor 
> is its sign in automatically encrypted. Such ommision is hardly consonant 
> with Verizon's publicly stated concern for the privacy and online security 
> of its users.
ahp