AT&T (T) had two major security failures in 2024.
Both put customer data in the hands of people who were not supposed to have it. A class-action lawsuit followed, and a federal judge has now granted final approval to a $177 million settlement that will pay out to customers who filed a timely claim.
The size of your payment depends on which settlement class you qualify for and whether you documented your losses at the time.
Some claimants could receive up to $5,000. Others will receive less, or a proportional share of what remains in the fund after costs are taken out. The exact amount will not be known until payments are distributed.
The deadline to file has already passed. If you submitted a claim, you can check your status at TelecomDataSettlement.com. Here is what the settlement covers, how payments are calculated, and what to watch for before the money goes out.
What AT&T’s 2 breaches actually exposed
The first incident became public on March 30, 2024. AT&T said a data set containing customer information had appeared on the dark web.
The company confirmed the exposed data included Social Security numbers, account numbers, passcodes, email addresses, and birth dates for roughly 73 million current and former customers.
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On July 12, 2024, AT&T said limited data had been illegally downloaded from its workspace on a third-party cloud platform. The downloaded data was call and text records. It covered nearly all of AT&T’s wireless customers. The records spanned May through October 2022.
The lawsuit alleged that AT&T failed to put adequate cybersecurity protections in place before either incident occurred. AT&T denied wrongdoing but agreed to settle rather than take the case through trial.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted final approval to the settlement on Oct. 2. If no appeal is filed, the effective date is Nov. 12. An appeal would push that date back and delay any payments by the length of the appeals process.
How much you could receive from the AT&T settlement?
Your payment depends on which of the two settlement classes you fall into. The classes are defined by when your documented losses occurred, not by which breach affected you.
The first class covers documented losses that took place in 2019 or later. If your claim falls into this class, the maximum payment is $5,000. Valid documentation includes records of identity theft, fraud losses, credit-monitoring expenses, or other out-of-pocket costs you can connect to the breach.
The stronger your documentation, the closer to the cap your payment is likely to be.
The second class applies to documented losses that occurred on or after April 14, 2024. Payments in that class are capped at $2,500.
If you did not document a specific financial loss when you filed, you may have selected the pro rata option instead. That gives you a proportional share of whatever remains in the $177 million fund after administrative costs, attorney fees, and service awards are paid out.
The pro rata payment will be smaller than the documented-loss caps, and the exact amount depends on how many claimants choose that option.
The size of your payment depends on which settlement class you qualify for and whether you documented your losses at the time.
When your payment will arrive
Payments must go out within 60 days of the effective date. The estimated effective date is Nov. 12. The distribution deadline is around mid-January.
You will receive an electronic payment or a paper check, based on what you chose when you filed. If your contact details or banking information have changed, update them at TelecomDataSettlement.com before payments go out.
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Your claim is already on file. The administrator will send your payment after Nov. 12, assuming no appeal is filed.
If you are unsure whether your claim was accepted, the settlement website is the place to check. The administrator sends status updates through the site, not through unsolicited messages.
Watch for scams using the AT&T settlement as cover
The filing deadline has closed. No third party can help you submit a new claim or move up your payment.
If you receive an unsolicited call, text, or email offering to help you collect a settlement payout or expedite your check, it is a scam.
Legitimate updates come from TelecomDataSettlement.com or directly from the settlement administrator. The administrator will not contact you to ask for payment information, Social Security numbers, or personal details beyond what you already provided when you filed.
Even if you did not file a claim, treat the two breaches seriously. Data exposed in a security incident can be used for identity theft months or years after the initial event.
Pull your credit reports from each of the three major bureaus and look for accounts or inquiries you do not recognize. You are entitled to a free report from each bureau weekly at AnnualCreditReport.com.
A credit freeze prevents new credit from being opened in your name without your authorization and costs nothing to place or lift. A fraud alert is a lighter option that flags your file without blocking new accounts outright.
Either step is reasonable, given the scope of what was exposed in the two 2024 breaches.
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