Verizon is offering a $25,000 reward program tied to recent attacks on fiber infrastructure in Southern California that resulted in a multi-hour network outage impacting “thousands of Verizon customers.”

The reward program is asking for information leading to the arrest and conviction of “individuals involved in vandalism” that happened over the past several days when “vandals cut multiple fiber cables causing service interruptions for customers in Los Angeles and parts of Southern California.” Published reports indicated that more than 12,000 Verizon customers noted a loss of service in that area over the weekend, with network access restored by Sunday evening.

“These are criminal acts, affecting people’s safety and are putting lives at risk,” Verizon Chief Legal Officer Vandana Venkatesh noted in a statement. “We are actively investigating several recent incidents and are pursuing all avenues to assist law enforcement in finding and convicting the perpetrators of these acts.”

Joe Russo, president of Verizon Global Networks and Technology, sternly added: “Our network and security teams are working with law enforcement at all levels in tracking down the perpetrators and bringing these egregious acts to an end. This must stop because our communities should not be put at risk by thieves who vandalize or steal cables.”

Verizon suffered a higher-profile network outage earlier this year that the carrier linked to a software issue and resulted in some devices being limited to “SOS Mode.” Verizon ended up providing a $20 credit to customers impacted by that outage.

Network vandalism challenges

Verizon rival AT&T earlier this year noted similar vandalism challenges tied to network assets in California. The carrier claimed it was the victim of more than 10,000 “copper theft incidents” last year, hits that were cumulatively valued to the tune of $82 million.

Rahdeese Alcutt, lead investigator for AT&T Global Security, noted in a blog post that the carrier experienced a weekly average of 200 “incidents reported nationwide at the end of 2025.” A vast majority of those happened in California, where “we experienced more than 7,300 copper theft incidents in 2025, with losses exceeding $54 million.”

“When copper theft occurs, it affects connectivity, transportation, lighting, and service availability,” Alcutt wrote. “When these systems are hit, it’s not just ‘network reliability’ at stake. It’s a commute that breaks down and a neighborhood left in the dark.”

Copper theft has been a significant issue in California, including a high-profile case where thieves last year reportedly struck a cable vault in Southern California, which took down service for thousands of residents in the area. California Governor Gavin Newsom shortly thereafter signed a bill to crack down on copper wire theft, with the bill requiring junk dealers and recyclers to collect detailed records on sellers and makes scrap metal from “essential infrastructure” illegal to possess without documentation.

“Many of these instances of copper theft do not appear to be one-off, opportunistic acts,” Alcutt wrote. “We are seeing clear evidence of organized crime, such as the use of heavy machinery and coordinated thefts on the same lines at the same time.”