
Verizon's version of Netflix, Redbox Instant, didn't get very long to prove itself, but it has been such a monumental flop, that Big Red has already decided to kill it. If you haven't heard of it, Redbox Instant was a team-up between Redbox and Verizon in an attempt to compete with Netflix by offering streaming video services. The service has been active for less than a year and a half.
Ironically, the service may have failed spectacularly as a business venture, but it was successful at one thing: it attracted criminals who used the service simply to verify stolen credit card numbers. Verizon even needed to stop new signups for the past three months in order to stop the criminals from taking over!
Ouch! You know your service must suck when criminals want to use it because there's no one else on it. The Redbox Instant service will be officially shut down on October 7th at 11:59 p.m. PT.
Source: ArsTechnica