Railfan Technology > OT Email issues

I hope this is a relevant post as my email is linked to TO so I can note personal messages etc.

I have two accounts, an AOL, linked to TO and a Yahoo that is secondary and made the recovery back up for AOL. Each is the verifying account for the other. Recently both are blocked with a pop up that says "Is that reallly you?"

Ok, the recovery option is the yahoo email, which also will not let me sign in due to the same issue refering me back to the AOL account. The only other option is a cell phone I don't have it now since retiring. So apparently at the same time, both accounts got blocked.

I called the AOL help number and the lady said she could help with the issue but kept talking about a technical support package with a fee. When I asked if I would be charged for the service (advertised as AOL FREE SUPPORT) would be subject to a charge she said yes and I would have to sign up for the technical support plan. And she said she would tell me the rate after she had unlocked it.

So "what the hell?"   I smell SCAM, but I can't find any way around it.  I did not give her any critical info, I just hung up. 

Anyone else have thhis issue, or have a solution?

I do have an active gmail account but I am not giving that out right now.

Basically yes, same problem but have worked it out using a cell phone. There is usually an automated voice option as well.

A cell phone is a good idea for safety and / or travel but there are all sorts of tracking and SPAM issues. My solution has been to turn the damn thing off when I don't need it. I don't have email on the cell phone. There are some decent prices using AAA or AARP. Not all cell phones cost a thousand dollars and customize spam to your location.

Tracking is an issue, for example in shopping malls and stores. There are settings to change but I leave the thing in the car. Most of us have the luxury of overlooking digital security but it really is an exposure that I would prefer not to have. A freind has avoided cell phones and email but I havent tried to explain how his new car tracks him and sends out data.

I have a cell phone, just not the one I did a few years ago they associate with the account.
I called the AOL support from my cell.

I do not have a landline.

Since I didn't get into it any deeper when she started trying to suck me in with charges, it almost seemed that if I were trying to hack somene's account she could give me that access .... meaning if I were a scammer trying to breach someone elses account .....   if I paid the support and tech serives fee. The whole thing seemed pretty strange.

The number that came up for help support was 800-358-4860.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/26 08:48 by train1275.

Try this:

https://techcult.com/how-to-stop-paying-for-aol-but-keep-email/

I misread it the first time. If Yahoo is ancient, AOL would be biblical.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/26 13:21 by TCnR.

AOL is Yahoo. SO, you are quite possibly in no-mans-land if the back-end sees them as the same.

Having an Yahoo email address as a backup for an AOL account, and having the AOL email address as a backup for the Yahoo account is essentially a round robin constant merrigoaround.

BTW, those of us in IT have a different name for AOL: America Off Line

longliveSP Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> AOL is Yahoo. SO, you are quite possibly in
> no-mans-land if the back-end sees them as the
> same.
>
> Having an Yahoo email address as a backup for an
> AOL account, and having the AOL email address as a
> backup for the Yahoo account is essentially a
> round robin constant merrigoaround.
>
> BTW, those of us in IT have a different name for
> AOL: America Off Line

Ok, thanks for that information. 
I'm not going to bother anymore with either of them.

Consider getting a second gmail account you can use just for account registrations etc.  

JUTower Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Consider getting a second gmail account you can
> use just for account registrations etc.  

So I thought about that, but what if Gmail locks out both at the same time like AOL / Yahoo did.
Or is that not likely ?

Gmail? I'm increasingly reluctant to use any Google services whatsoever. I suggest you consider getting yourself a free ProtonMail account. I've had one for years and as long as you log-in at least monthly (or bi-annually? I forget), nothing of yours gets auto-deleted. Lots of other off-brand "free" web email services come with far too many gotchas & stupidities once you read their Terms & Conditions.

Sure, the storage allotment on the Free tier of service is "only" 500 megabytes total, so don't expect to send image attachments to everyone all the time. On the plus side, unlike Google/Alphabet/spawn of satan, ProtonMail is extremely privacy-conscious as well as simple & straightforward to use. 

I think I'll just say to hell with the whole thing pretty soon. The current computer will not update the browser anymore and locked me out of numerous websites including banking.
The internet provider is raising prices yet again, and I don't want to play that game anymore.
I am in no mood to buy yet another new computer and pay even more for internet. so when this one goes, it goes.

I've got enough books and old magazines and can walk to the nearest tracks and have enough things in life to "entertain me".
With the rest of it, I'll figure a way to get by.

People who know where I live can stop by if they have something to say if the Post Office craters.

I'm at the point I really don't care anymore.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/26 12:50 by train1275.