Verizon offers $25k reward after cut fiber lines lead to hours-long Southern California service outages

Verizon officials have announced a $25,000 reward program for information leading to the arrest and conviction of people who allegedly cut fiber lines and cut off service to thousands of Southern California customers in recent days. 

In a news release shared Tuesday, Verizon said that service interruptions affected people across Los Angeles County and other parts of the region after vandals cut multiple fiber cables. At the time, some customers told CBS LA that they were without service from 7 a.m. until approximately 8 a.m. on Sunday. 

"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," Verizon said. "Vandals also put their own lives at risk when perpetrating these crimes."

Officials have not yet disclosed exactly where the fiber cables were cut, but Los Angeles police on Sunday told CBS LA that they had received reports of vandalism in the San Fernando Valley. 

Verizon, citing industry data, said that California and Texas are particularly at risk for vandalism, accounting for more than 50% of the nationwide incidents. In the Golden State, Verizon says the economic impact of the outages resulted in losses totaling $252.6 million. 

In 2025, Los Angeles experienced 1,131 of California's 6,297 vandalism incidents, according to Verizon. 

"These are criminal acts, affecting people's safety and are putting lives at risk," said a statement from Vandana Venkatesh, Verizon's chief legal officer. "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."

Anyone who knows more was asked to call 911 and then contact Verizon's Security department at 1-800-997-3287.