Legal

AT&T settlement lets eligible customers file claims after two 2024 data breaches

AT&T customers affected by two 2024 data breaches may be eligible for payments under a $177 million settlement, with claims due by Dec. 18.

AT&T has agreed to a $177 million settlement tied to two 2024 data breaches affecting current and former customers. Eligible people can file claims for payments that may reach up to $7,500 in some cases.

According to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, one breach involved personal data reported as released on the dark web, while the other involved call and text records for nearly all AT&T customers from May through October 2022, plus a small subset from Jan. 2, 2023.

NBC 5 DFW reported that the first breach occurred on March 30, 2024, and included addresses, Social Security numbers, birthdates, passcodes, billing numbers and phone numbers. The second breach involved data AT&T said was illegally downloaded from a third-party cloud workspace. AT&T said it learned of that issue in April 2024 and began notifying customers in July 2024 after launching an investigation.

AT&T denied wrongdoing but said it agreed to settle to avoid the expense and uncertainty of litigation, according to the NBC 5 DFW report.

Customers affected by either breach may submit a claim online at telecomdatasettlement.com or by mail through Kroll Settlement Administration. NBC 5 DFW said claimants may need a class member ID, email address, AT&T account number or full name to check eligibility, and people without a confirmation code and notice ID can contact Kroll at 833-890-4930.

The claim deadline moved from Tuesday, Nov. 18, to Thursday, Dec. 18. Online forms must be submitted by that date, and mailed claims must be postmarked by then, NBC 5 DFW reported.

Payment caps reported by NBC 5 DFW are up to $5,000 for the first breach, up to $2,500 for the second breach, and up to $7,500 for class members affected by both.

The article said lawsuits filed after the breaches were later consolidated. It did not provide further detail on court timing or final approval steps.

Sources