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Frustration is my worst enemy.... Thanks for your help as this is what this Forum is for, Semper Fi Sir

 

I had the same problem but with UK banks and credit card companies who will only send verification texts to a UK number.
Seems to be they like to make things difficult for those who choose to live abroad.
When you eventually have to call them their freephone numbers don't work from abroad so have to call some call centre number and hang on for a long time costing ££££££

 

Charly, to make phone calls cost efficiently to any bank/company/government agency/family member outside the Philippines, try using an app called DialNow. Calling the UK (landline half a penny per minute, mobile number 1 penny per minute).
Create an account here, pay a small amount like 5 or 10 pounds into your account, download the app to your phone from google or apple and you should be good for more than a year worth of unavoidable calls abroad.

 

Are there any known advantages over Skype? Thanks.

 

My bank, my government, and my elderly family members don't use skype.
The (large, financial) advantage of a VOIP (voice over IP) connection to a regular landline phone abroad compared to actually calling them from the Philippines with your phone (cell or landline) seems pretty obvious to me.

 

Get you a Google Voice phone number, very convinient, low cost per minute & free calls to toll free numbers.

https://www.instarem.com/blog/google-voice-expat/

 

Not sure if this page has the info you need: https://www.va.gov/resources/verifying-your-identity-on-vagov/
Looks like to sign with myhealthevet it has to be a premium DS login account. Not sure what that is.

The other two options: ID.me, it does spell out no foreign numbers and no VOIP numbers.

On ID.ME I was able to register without the need for a phone. I used alternate method instructions to set up MFA using the Device Unlock method on with my Windows laptop. Now I can't say if they detect your IP is from a foreign source and will block this method.
https://help.id.me/hc/en-us/article...70.272071007.1681901455-1404657376.1681648532

Personal note, I help on a technical forum, DTNA Solutions, at a much higher volume. The type of answers I gave here reflected the type or style of responses I give there. They are much more normal there.

 

Hey Pat, after researching all methods it appears that our only option is to submit to a video call to verify our identity which I will undergo next month and report back on results... Stay safe, Semper Fi

 

The person or business you are calling does not need to use Skype. You are just calling through Skype to their phone. Don't know what VOIP is or how it works, so cannot comment on how obvious that is. $5 of Skype credit lasts me around 6 months for the few calls I need to make.

 

I didn't know Skype also offered a VOIP service, but apparently they do. Voice over IP (VOIP) just means the initiating side of the call uses the internet to connect to a dedicated (telephone) server in a different country which then connects them to a phone (landline or mobile) in the receiving country. It also works within one country but then the cost advantage disappears.