Hopewell woman waits for $3,000 refund after her Verizon account was hacked
VENN
HOPEWELL, Va. (WRIC) — A Hopewell woman says she's waited months for a refund after fraudsters used her Verizon account to buy a new phone and other electronics.
Richetta Campbell considers herself a loyal Verizon Wireless customer after using their services for nearly 16 years. During that time, she says she always paid her bill on time.
“Never had any problems with Verizon, never,” Campbell said.
Her monthly bill is normally about $400. So she was shocked when she saw her bill from February of 2025 that stated she owed $4,168.26.
When she took a closer look, she noticed a new device, an iPhone 16 Pro Max added to her account. However, Campbell never ordered a new phone and she didn't receive one either.
When she asked Verizon Wireless about the charge, the company said she would be issued a refund for the fraudulent charges. However, she received that response in March and, by December, Campbell said she still never received a check in the mail.
"I've been calling and calling since March, trying to get my money back, and no results," Campbell said.
She went on to say, “It was very frustrating, really frustrating, because I don't have that kind of money to be given away period, nor for them to keep.”
8News reached out to the phone company. Not long after we asked what happened, a representative contacted Campbell, saying someone had used her account to buy an iPhone 16 Pro Max, an iPad, another tablet and two sets of AirPods. The company apologized for the delay and issued her refund immediately.
