AT&T is paying customers $177 million after data breaches exposed social security numbers

AT&T is paying out a $177 million settlement after two data breaches exposed customers’ personal information, according to reports from CNET.

AT&T will pay any current or former customer whose data was accessed in at least one of the breaches, with higher payments going to people who can provide proof that they suffered damages from their data being stolen.

If you’re eligible, you should receive either an email or mail about it in the coming months. The company expects that the claims process will begin on Aug. 4, 2025, according to CNET.

The data breaches

CNET reported that the first data breach happened in 2019. AT&T found that about 7.6 million current and 65.4 million former account holders had their data exposed to hackers, including social security numbers, names and dates of birth.

The company began investigating in 2024 after it reported that customer data had appeared on the dark web.

The second breach began in April of 2024, when a hacker broke into AT&T’s cloud storage provider, Snowflake, and accessed call and text records for almost all of their U.S. customers, about 109 million.

AT&T said no names were attached to the stolen data. Two people were arrested in connection with the breach, according to CNET.

Both data breaches led to multiple class action lawsuits, according to CNET.

How to receive payment

On June 20, U.S. District Judge Ada Brown gave preliminary approval to AT&T’s proposed settlement for to two lawsuits related to the data breaches to pay customers who were affected, according to reports from Reuters.

To be eligible for the highest payouts, you will have to “reasonably” prove damages caused by these data breaches, according to CNET.

For the 2019 breach, people who were impacted can receive up to $5,000. For the 2024 breach, people can claim up to $2,500.

The deadline for submitting a claim is currently set at Nov. 18. The final approval of the settlement needs to be given at a court hearing on Dec. 3 for payments to begin, CNET reported.

What is left of the $177 million settlement will be disbursed to anyone whose data was accessed, even without proof of damages.

CNET reported that AT&T said payments will begin in early 2026. Exact dates aren’t available but the recent court order approving the settlement lists a notification schedule from Aug. 4 to Oct. 17, 2025.