Greg's Corner

Verizon Outage Becomes the Latest Scam Opportunity

By Greg Collier

When a major company experiences a public failure, scammers are rarely far behind. The recent Verizon wireless outage, which affected over a million customers nationwide, has already become the basis for a new scam wave, demonstrating once again how criminals will use almost any story in the news as a fraud opportunity.

What Happened With Verizon

On January 14, Verizon experienced a widespread wireless service outage that left many customers stuck in “SOS only” mode for hours. According to reporting by USA Today, more than 1.5 million customers were affected, with full service not restored until roughly 10 hours after the disruption began.

Verizon later said the outage was tied to a software issue and not a cyberattack. As part of its response, the company announced it would issue $20 credits to impacted customers.

That legitimate corporate response quickly became the hook for scammers.

How the Scam Emerged

Shortly after Verizon announced the credits, the Jones County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia issued a warning that scammers were sending fake text messages and emails pretending to be from Verizon.

These messages claim to offer customers their $20 credit, but in reality they are designed to:

• Steal personal or account information
• Capture login credentials
• Redirect victims to fake websites
• Or install malware

The sheriff’s office emphasized that people should not click links in these messages and should instead verify any offers directly through Verizon’s official channels.

Why This Scam Works

Scammers thrive on timing and context, and this story gives them both.

They benefit from:

• A widely reported outage affecting large numbers of people
• A promised financial credit
• Customers actively expecting follow-up communication
• Frustration and urgency surrounding service restoration

This is not unique to Verizon. Scammers routinely exploit airline cancellations, tax refunds, student loan announcements, disaster relief programs, and product recalls. If a story is in the news and involves money or accounts, scammers will find a way to attach themselves to it.

They do not invent narratives. They hijack real ones.

The Added Complication: Verizon Is Texting Customers

This case is especially tricky because Verizon has said it will notify customers of the $20 credit by text and that the credit can be redeemed through the myVerizon app.

That overlap between legitimate communication and scam messages is exactly what criminals rely on.

Scammers are not trying to outsmart Verizon’s systems. They are trying to blend into Verizon’s normal communication patterns and catch a small number of people off guard.

Red Flags

Even when you are expecting communication, certain warning signs remain consistent:

• Messages with clickable links asking you to log in or verify details
• Urgent language pressuring immediate action
• Requests for passwords, PINs, or full account information
• Slightly altered sender names or unfamiliar URLs
• Poor grammar or formatting that does not match official messages

The safest move is simple: do not use links in messages. Instead, go directly to the Verizon app or official website, or contact customer support through known, verified channels.

Why Scammers Love Breaking News

The Verizon credit scam is just the latest example of a broader pattern.

Scammers will use almost any story in the news as a scam because news creates:

• Attention
• Confusion
• Emotional responses
• And large pools of potential victims

Whether it is a corporate outage, a natural disaster, or a government program, criminals move quickly to insert themselves into legitimate conversations and transactions.

Final Thoughts

This incident is less about Verizon itself and more about how fraud now operates in a real-time media environment.

Every outage, recall, refund, or relief effort now produces two parallel systems:

• The real response
• And the criminal imitation

For consumers, that means even when a story is real, the messages you receive about it may not be.

Outages and credits are no longer just customer service issues. They are part of the modern scam ecosystem.

Further Reading

• What caused the Verizon outage? What we know so far – USA Today
• Verizon credit scam targets customers after outage, Georgia sheriff says – WSB