Is that $20 credit for the Verizon outage real? Don’t click a bad link

Last week, Verizon experienced a massive outage. Millions of wireless customers could not receive a signal and were stuck on emergency service. If you were affected, you probably knew: your phone was stuck in “SOS” mode, capable only of calling 911.

Service was eventually restored that evening, with Verizon subsequently issuing an apology the next day, along with an offer of a $20 service credit. No catch…but you could still get tripped up by scammers looking to trick people into clicking on fake refund links.

You don’t want to get entangled in such a scheme? Log in directly to your account to bypass all phishing links. But here’s also the details you need to know about the refund, confirmed directly by a Verizon spokesperson: how the notifications were sent, how to get the credit, and where you’ll use the offer.

• Text messages with the $20 credit offer were sent to affected customers last week.
• If you have not received a notification but are qualified, logging into your account will indicate whether or not you are eligible.
• If eligible, the $20 account credit will appear as a button in the Verizon app or on the Verizon website.

PCWorld

Last week’s outages affected part of the entire United States, but not all Verizon customers. Unaffected people will not find any notification in their account. Those who do have made it very clear in the app and on the website, which Verizon describes as a “Take Action” button.

How to avoid scams regarding this $20 Verizon credit

PCWorld

Are you receiving a message about the $20 apology credit? If it is legitimate, it must match the following details:

• You have received a text message (not an email).
• The text message must come from the same number from which you have received other official notifications from Verizon.
• You received the text message last week.

Again, the easiest way is to go directly to the website or app and not click on the links. You will avoid possible phishing attempts.

If $20 doesn’t seem like enough of an apology for your situation (for example, other reports say that for family plans only the primary account holder is notified of a one-time $20 credit for all lines), you can try pleading your case with customer service. Some users have reported successfully negotiating with customer service for larger refunds. As PCMag reports, one gig worker managed to recover $200, to compensate for lost income that day.

As for the reason for the breakdown? Verizon says this was a software issue and not a cybersecurity incident.