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

Last week, Verizon had a massive outage. Millions of wireless customers couldn’t get a signal, instead stuck on emergency service. If you were affected, you definitely knew it—your phone was stuck on “SOS” mode, only capable of calling 911.

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

Don’t want to get tangled in such a scheme? Log into your account directly—it’ll bypass any phishing links. But here are also the details you should know about the refund, confirmed directly by a Verizon spokesperson: How notifications went out, how to get the credit, and where you’ll redeem the offer.

• Text messages with the $20 credit offer were sent to affected customers last week.
• If you did not receive a notification but qualified, logging into your account will show if you’re eligible or not. 
• If eligible, the $20 account credit will appear as button in the Verizon app or on the Verizon website.

Outages last week affected parts of the entire United States, but not all Verizon customers. Those not affected won’t find any notification in their account. Those who do have it very clearly marked in the app and website, which Verizon describes as a “Take Action” button.

How to avoid scams about this $20 Verizon credit

Receive a message about the $20 apology credit? If it’s legitimate, it should match the following details:

• You received a text message (not an email).
• The text message should come from the same number that you’ve received other official Verizon notifications from.
• You received the text message last week.

Again, the easiest route is to go directly to the website or app and don’t bother to click on links. You’ll sidestep possible phishing attempts.

If $20 doesn’t feel like enough of an apology for your situation—for example, other reports indicate that for family plans, only the primary account holder is notified with a single $20 credit for all lines—you can try your pleading your case to customer service. Some users have reported success negotiating with customer service for greater refunds. As PCMag chronicles, a gig worker managed to get $200 back, in compensation for lost income that day.

As for the reason for the outage? Verizon says it was a software issue—not a cybersecurity incident.