Verizon offers USD $25,000 reward over California vandalism

Verizon has introduced a USD $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of people who intentionally damage its network equipment, following a series of fibre cable cuts in Southern California.

Multiple fibre cables were cut over several days, causing service interruptions for Verizon customers in Los Angeles and other parts of Southern California. The incidents affected wireless and wireline communications services.

The company said it is investigating several recent incidents and working with law enforcement to identify those responsible.

"These are criminal acts, affecting people's safety and are putting lives at risk," said Vandana Venkatesh, Chief Legal Officer, Verizon. "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."

California attacks

Industry data cited by Verizon shows California recorded 6,297 attacks on communications infrastructure in 2025. Los Angeles accounted for 1,131 incidents.

California and Texas together accounted for more than half of all reported incidents, according to the data.

The estimated economic impact of outages linked to attacks in California reached USD $252.6 million, the largest loss recorded among US states in the industry data.

The figures come amid wider concern about deliberate damage and theft affecting communications infrastructure across the United States. The telecommunications industry records thousands of cable vandalism incidents nationwide each year.

Damage to fibre infrastructure can interrupt services that households and organisations use for communications. Verizon said the affected infrastructure also supports emergency services and healthcare operations.

Network response

Verizon said its network and security teams are working with law enforcement agencies to investigate incidents and identify perpetrators.

"Across the country, people rely on us for critical connectivity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," said Joe Russo, EVP & President of Global Networks and Technology, Verizon. "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."

The incidents in Southern California involved cuts to multiple fibre cables rather than service failures originating within Verizon's network systems. The company said such damage can interrupt both wireless and wireline services.

Network operators rely on fibre connections to carry traffic between network facilities and other infrastructure. Physical damage to cables can therefore affect services across areas served by the damaged links.

Reward programme

Verizon's reward programme applies to information that leads to both the arrest and conviction of individuals who intentionally damage the company's equipment.

The reward is set at USD $25,000. Verizon has asked people who witness vandalism to report the incident to emergency services before contacting the company's security department.

The programme follows the recent Southern California disruptions and the broader pattern of attacks recorded across the state.

California's 6,297 reported attacks in 2025 represented the highest level cited by Verizon, while Los Angeles alone recorded more than 1,100 incidents.

Verizon said its investigation into the recent incidents remains active as its network and security teams continue working with law enforcement.