Some AT&T customers could get thousands of dollars as part of a payout as part of a $177 million class-action settlement stemming from two separate data breaches, but the deadline to file a claim is coming up.
And, those eligible will need specific information in order to meet claim eligibility.
As part of the suit, AT&T has agreed to create two different settlement funds that will be used for payouts to class members. In some cases, class members are part of both settlements, which could increase the amount to as high as $7,500.
As the date to file a claim comes up, here’s how to know if you’re eligible, how much you could get from the settlement and more.
How to know if you are part of the class action settlement
According to the settlement website, email notices were sent to eligible class members, from the email address attsettlement@e.emailksa.com, which contain information about the suit.
The settlement website also said the following people are part of the settlement, which is split into two classes:
AT&T 1 Settlement Class: Any person living in the U.S. whose data elements were included in the AT&T 1 Data Incident that was announced on March 30, 2024. Those elements include some combination of names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, account passcodes, billing account numbers, and Social Security numbers.
AT&T 2 Settlement Class: Any AT&T account owner, or line or end user whose AT&T 2 Data Elements were involved in the AT&T 2 Data Incident that was announced on or about July 12, 2024. Those elements include means telephone numbers of current and former AT&T customers, counts of those interactions, aggregate call durations for a day or month and more.
Some people are in both settlement classes, the administrator said.
Customers impacted by the hacks were contacted by text, email or U.S. mail, the company said. Those with active AT&T accounts were also told to check their accounts online.
Prior customers who had service at some point between May 2022 and Nov. 22 should have received a notification with an account and case number if they were affected.
How to file a claim in the AT&T settlement
Eligible class members must complete and submit a claim form online.
According to the form, those filing a claim must either provide a class member ID, email address, AT&T account number or full name in order to login and start the process.
“In order to submit a claim online, please provide the Class Member ID found on the email or postcard notice you received, as well as the account number, email address, or name associated with your email account,” the site said.
How much money could you get?
Details on how much money customers could get are dependent on the number of claims filed.
Those involved in a breach from 2019 could receive up to $5,000, depending on documentation of provided losses. Those in the 2024 incident could receive up to $2,500.
Those part of both classes could get up to $7,500.
When is the claim deadline?
The preliminary approval order from the judge said notifications will begin on Aug. 4 and continue through Oct. 17.
The deadline to submit a claim will be on Nov. 18 and a final approval hearing will be held on Dec. 3.
AT&T has not admitted any wrongdoing associated with the breaches, but did agree to the class-action settlements.
Why is there a class-action settlement?
The first incident was announced in March 2024, involving data as far back as 2019. At that time, AT&T said it discovered data had been released on the dark web, including social security numbers and passcodes for more than 7 million customers and more than 60 million former customers.
Months later, the company revealed a second data breach. That security incident compromised the data of “nearly all” AT&T cellular network customers, with hackers stealing six months worth of call and text message records, the company said.
The breach also impacted AT&T landline customers that interacted with affected cellular numbers, the company said.
According to NBC News, the company said in an SEC filing that it learned from an internal investigation hackers had “unlawfully accessed and copied AT&T call logs” that were saved on a third-party cloud platform.
The investigation revealed that compromised data included phone and text message records of “nearly all” AT&T customers from May 1, 2022 to Oct. 31, 2022, as well as Jan. 2, 2023.
“The data does not contain the content of calls or texts, personal information such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or other personally identifiable information,” AT&T said at the time.
The compromised data also did not include some information typically seen in usage details, such as the time stamp of calls or texts, the company said.
Want more insights? Join Working Title - our career elevating newsletter and get the future of work delivered weekly.
