Verizon Wireless Verizon Wireless continues to ripoff customers by falsifying data usage on the mobile hot spot units. Nationwide Nationwide

 I live out in the country and other internet solutions are too slow. So I have used my Verizon plan on my Samsung S5 as a mobile hotspot, which works great. Only one problem...my data usage SPIKES crazily. I use to have an LG Spectrum and would do light browsing with my hotspot on there, and had minimal GB used. Back in Sept '14 we upgrading phones and plans. Now every time I use another device, whether it's my laptop or Kindle my data spikes, but if I use Chrome on my phone to visit the same websites I use a small fraction of data.

I recently talked with Verizon about this and they really had no logical explination. I was trying to figure out if it was a phone issue or verizon issue, or if they are in bed with each other.

I'm afraid to use my mobile hotspot. My wife and I share 6GB, and just increased it to 10GB.

 Nope I don't work for Verizon I am a Verizon customer who had a similar issue not long ago. My device was password protected but the password wasn't strong enough and it got hacked within 48 hours by someone nearby. And lets face it, if one other person had the password and it was a weak password then it stands to reason that THIS is the cause of your issue. All it takes is an app that does a "Force Attack" on the device in question. It basically keeps throwing passwords at the device until one is accepted. It can go even faster if YOU used something in the password related to YOUR business. As for Verizon giving YOU what websites were visited, you do realize exactly how almost impossible that task is?? First, it would be a violation of YOUR rights as a consumer for them to keep any record of where you visited. Secondly, it WOULD be a FCC violation for them to do what YOU want. Third, if an investigation was opened into YOUR issue and it was found that the amount of data used IS correct, then what YOU are doing is trying to deflect the BLAME off of yourself. Ok we get it, YOU personally did not use that much data, but the DEVICE did. Your wifi device was hacked and someone close by to YOUR physical address were YOU use the device has done this. Also you have given this password to an employee. Which means there is every chance that the employee not only used up that data since YOU are paying for it, but that THEY have given that password out to other people and THEY have used YOUR data as well. Of course if the employee DID use this data, do YOU really and TRULY think that THEY are going to admit to costing YOU thousands of dollars?? I mean it really is just an issue of LOGIC. If YOU step back and look at the situation with LOGIC its pretty easy to figure out what has happened and WHO did it. Using logic, which is MORE feasible. That Verizon has over billed you by $3950.00 and after an investigation is keeping it at that amount, or that an employee has been using the wifi and has told their friends about the wifi they have at work and has given that code away to people that they know? Verizon would not have been in business THIS LONG if they allowed their customers to get screwed like that. I know that YOU do not wish to suspect YOUR employee, but lets use a bit of statistics here. 80% of ALL retail theft IS by employees. So YOUR employee uses the data and doesn't realize how much THEY have used. Its NOT like many people keep a data counter on their devices. I wish you luck in this, but I fear that you will have to pay Verizon no matter what. Hopefully you can get to the bottom of this barrel of monkeys. I personally hope it IS a Verizon mistake for your sake, but the realist in me understands that you have probably been getting screwed over by your own people.

Hello,

Do you work for verizon?  My device did have a password as was secured.  All I am asking for is proof of the sites that were visited, whate was downloaded, something more than just a time of day and data used during that time.  With no proof it is Verizons word against my companies regarding the data use.  If someone can proove to me that $4000 worth of data was used in 2 months on a $50/month subscription then Ill be happy to make payment arrangements.  $4000 is 40 times the money we agreed to pay on this monthly contract for the two months in question.  The first two months we had it we were only charged $50/month, then all sudden it spikes to $2000/month.  Somethign istn right here.  No one else had the password but one other employee.  I just want some proof, as anyone would before paying thousands of dollars for data...Lets get real here.

Just because YOU have a 2gb plan doesn't mean that they turn off the unit after 2gb. Verizon offers YOU the consumer a GIG of data at $10 a gig if you go over. If you are paying close to $4000 then you went WELL BEYOND 2 gb of data. By my calculations you used roughly 400gb of data. So roughly 200GB of data a month. Just connecting to the web and leaving your computer online will eat up data. Not to mention any data used because you are on WIFI at home. So its VERY possible to use up that much data. It would be because of YOUR internet use. I haven't even addressed streaming and gaming.  Both of which eat up data like tic tacs. So before you go and blast them online, ensure YOU and YOUR computer are NOT the issue. If you have used up that much data then I would work on cutting yourself off of the web. Its also ENTIRELY possible that YOU left your WIFI network unprotected and your neighbors have been using the "free" internet that YOU have provided. The good part about that is that Verizon can pull up a log of devices and their ISP addresses that have used YOUR service. This way YOU can go to your neighbors and show them that THEY have cost you this much money. Verizon IS NOT going to give YOU a pass on the data usage. Its just like pumping gas. If there is a hole in your tank, you can keep putting gasoline in all you like, you STILL have to pay for the gas even if its spilling out. Same thing with DATA. If it is found that this issue is because of your wifi NOT being password protected, then THAT IS ALL ON YOU!!!! YOU need to take it out on the people who have stolen from YOU. Verizon is NOT going to falsify data usage. It IS what it IS. If they are reporting THAT MUCH use and YOU claim it wasn't you, then that points to someone hacking into your wifi (poor password) or that YOUR wifi unit has been unprotected by a password and anyone who checks for a open wifi signal is going to see YOUR network open and use it.