After suffering two significant data breaches in recent years, AT&T has agreed to pay $177 million to customers affected by the incidents. Some individuals could receive as much as $5,000 as part of the settlement.
The cellular carrier faced two class-action lawsuits following separate breaches disclosed in 2024. The first was confirmed in April of last year, affecting 73 million current and former customers. A second breach, confirmed a short time later, in July, impacted 100 million customers.
The compromised data varied by individual but may have included names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and passcodes—raising concerns about identity theft.
Although AT&T has denied the allegations, the U.S. District Court in Dallas granted preliminary approval of the settlement in June. With notification efforts beginning, here’s what to know about eligibility and how to file a claim.
Who qualifies for compensation in the AT&T data breach settlement?
People who suffered damages as a result of the breaches will be prioritized for compensation. However, any current or former AT&T customer whose data was compromised is eligible.
Two separate funds have been established: one with $28 million for the April breach, and another with $149 million for the July breach.
After customers with direct losses are reimbursed, remaining funds will be distributed to those whose data was stolen but who did not experience direct harm.
How much compensation am I entitled to?
Customers affected by the April 2024 breach may be eligible for up to $5,000 if their losses are “fairly traceable” to the incident. Those impacted by the July breach can receive up to $2,500.
If your data was compromised but you did not incur specific damages, your compensation amount is still to be determined.
How do I make a claim?
The notification program for the settlement started August 4 and will continue through October 17. The deadline to submit claims is November 18.
On December 3, the court is scheduled to hold a final approval hearing, which will make the payments final.
You can begin the process of filing a claim at the telecomdatasettlement.com website.
When will payments go out?
Payments are expected to be distributed to current and former AT&T customers in early 2026.
How did the AT&T data breaches take place?
The second breach was linked to a hack of Snowflake, AT&T’s cloud storage provider. AT&T reported that hackers had “unlawfully accessed and copied AT&T call logs,” making it one of the largest private communications data breaches in history.
The first breach, however, may be even more concerning. In 2021, a hacker group called Shiny Hunters claimed to have accessed AT&T’s systems starting in 2019. While AT&T initially denied the data originated from its systems, 70 million customer records were later posted for sale on the dark web in March 2024.
Following further investigation, a security researcher discovered that stolen passwords could be easily decrypted. AT&T then reset account passwords and confirmed the breach on April 2.
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