AT and T Cell phone voicemail over land line

The answer is so simple; I wonder if this would also work for the Verizon phone as well. In short, just hit * during the outgoing message and it will then ask for the voicemail passcode. Here is where I found this on a forum:

http://forums.att.com/t5/Voice-Mail/Is-there-a-central-number-to-call-for-at-amp-t-voicemail-access/td-p/1553946

Here is an interesting alternative suggestion which I didn't get around to trying:

https://www.customerservice.att.com/assistance/faq/qa.jsp?faqCategoryId=local_accessvm_faq

Verizon voicemail backdoor

Verizon seems to be a lot more stingy with letting customers check their voicemail without incurring airtime charges. The landline access numbers are apparently often called "backdoor" numbers. There are many people out there trying to maintain lists of backdoor numbers, but for Verizon they are mostly disconnected.

The best list was found here: He apparently actually tries the numbers and edited out the chaff from the list that is at the other sites.

http://www.bridog.net/cellular/voicemail.txt

The access number for the DC area, BTW, is 301 802 6245