Carriers experience outages every now and then. This could be due to software glitches in the network or maybe broken hardware. But sometimes, it could be caused by vandalism. So much so that Verizon has announced a reward program for information about the vandals that caused its service to fail.
Verizon announces $25,000 reward program
According to Verizon’s announcement, it seems that the carrier is sick and tired of vandals and thieves that either steal or vandalize their equipment, causing its network to suffer outages. To that extent, Verizon wants to do something about it by offering a $25,000 reward for information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of those involved.
Verizon says, “Over the past several days, vandals cut multiple fiber cables causing service interruptions for customers in Los Angeles and parts of Southern California. Acts of network theft and vandalism represent a direct threat to the safety and security of our communities, emergency services, healthcare and all who rely on critical communications. Vandals also put their own lives at risk when perpetrating these crimes.”
However, it’s worth noting that the information provided needs to lead to an arrest and conviction of those involved. This means that you can’t just give information and collect the reward. Based on the pace of the judicial system, it could be a while before you can actually collect on it.
California is a hotspot
What’s interesting is that according to Verizon, California seems to be a hotspot for vandalism. Verizon says that based on industry data, California suffered the largest losses due to vandalism to the tune of $252.6 million. Texas is also another hotspot, with both states accounting for more than half of all reported incidents.
This is more than just a case of stolen or damaged equipment. This could be potentially dangerous too. Imagine needing to reach out to emergency services only to be unable to because network equipment was stolen or damaged.
So, if you do catch someone in the act of vandalizing network equipment, Verizon asks you to call 911 and contact Verizon’s Security department at 1-800-997-3287.
The post Verizon Launches $25,000 Reward Program to Catch Network Vandals appeared first on Android Headlines.
