AT&T customers whose information was stolen in two separate data breaches can apply for their share — up to $7,500 — of a $177 million settlement.
The Dallas-based company agreed to settle a class action lawsuit following data breaches last year that resulted in the leak of sensitive information of millions of customers.
The first breach, announced in March 2024, affected 73 million current and former AT&T customers whose information — including names, birth dates and Social Security Numbers — leaked onto the dark web, opening them up to potential identity fraud.
A second breach, announced in July 2024, exposed the records of calls and text messages of nearly all AT&T wireless customers as well as customers of mobile virtual network operators hosted by AT&T servers, like Cricket Wireless or StraightTalk. Data was illegally downloaded from an AT&T workspace on a third-party cloud platform hosted by Snowflake, Inc.
Breaking News
A flurry of lawsuits filed in state and federal courts followed the breaches and were consolidated into a class-action suit.
Related:AT&T notifies users of data breach and resets millions of passcodesHow to apply for a settlement
Customers must submit a claim online or by mail by Nov. 18 to receive a payment. Affected customers should have received an email notifying them they are eligible. To file a claim, customers must have a “Class Member ID,” included in the email from settlement administrator Kroll.
Check your spam folder or other email filters if you cannot find the email. If you are not sure whether you are included, Kroll recommends calling 833-890-4930 or sending a letter to AT&T Data Incident Settlement; c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC; P.O. Box 5324; New York, NY 10150-5324. Some customers have said on social media they also had luck filling out the Contact Us form on the settlement administrator’s website.
How much could you get?
Customers whose data was exposed in the first breach are eligible for up to $5,000 if they can show financial losses with supporting documents. Customers affected by the second breach could receive up to $2,500 if they can show documented losses.
Without documentation, customers can apply for what Kroll called a Tier 3 payment. The amount will depend on the funds remaining after other costs and claims have been paid.
A final hearing to approve the settlement is set for Dec. 3. It is not clear when payments will be distributed, but the claim administrator asked customers for patience.
Data security
AT&T has more than 100 million customers in the U.S. and almost 2.5 million business accounts.
Digital privacy is a growing issue, and online users should be cautious of data theft. Recommended personal protection measures include credit freezes, multifactor account authentication and changing passwords to include combinations of numbers, letters and symbols.