Verizon offers $25,000 if you have something to say about the thieves who caused service to fail

This is why we can't have nice things—thieves and vandals don't care if you'll be left without phone or internet service. They just do their thing.

Verizon is sick of rampant crimes and is now announcing a big reward if anyone has got useful information on such criminals.

Getting the reward

There's a new $25,000 reward program that was just announced by Verizon. If you want it, the process is pretty straightforward. You just have to share information that leads to the arrest (and conviction!) of criminals (individual or organized) who were involved in network-damaging acts.

Verizon highlights that over the last few days, there were numerous acts of vandalism. Fiber cables were cut and, as a result, many Verizon subscribers in Los Angeles (and parts of Southern California) were cut off from the telco's critical wireless and wireline communications services.

Not a joke

The Big Red is adamant: such acts of network theft and vandalism are "a direct threat to the safety and security of our communities, emergency services, healthcare and all who rely on critical communications". What's more, vandals also put their lives at risk when committing these crimes.

Vandana Venkatesh, Verizon's chief legal officer, says that the company is actively investigating several recent incidents. Verizon is cooperating with local law enforcement and the goal is to find and convict these vandals and thieves.

Crime is up

California appears to be one of the biggest hotspots for telecom vandalism in the US, with the financial damage from these outages reaching an estimated $252.6 million.

What's more California and Texas together account for more than half of all reported incidents, while California alone recorded 6,297 attacks in 2025. Los Angeles was particularly affected, with 1,131 incidents reported in the city.

Where to call?

Of course, this isn't just a California problem. Telecom companies across the country deal with thousands of cable theft and vandalism incidents every year, disrupting connectivity and potentially putting communities at risk.

Again, Verizon's $25,000 offering reward is up for grabs, but only if your information leads to the arrest and conviction of anyone who intentionally damages its equipment. Anyone who witnesses network vandalism should first call 911 and then contact Verizon's Security department at 1-800-997-3287.

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