AT&T data breach settlement notice

The proposed settlement could pay up to 7500 per claimant to AT&T customers affected by two data breaches and awaits court approval.

AT&T faces 177 million settlement after two data breaches

Millions of AT&T customers can file claims in a proposed 177 million settlement tied to two data breaches. The March 2024 breach affected 73 million current and former account holders, exposing birth dates and Social Security numbers as data on the dark web. The July 2024 breach affected records of calls and texts for nearly all cellular customers. The settlement would allocate 149 million to the March breach class and 28 million to the July breach class. A final court approval hearing is set for December 3, 2025. Notices are emailed to eligible customers by Kroll Settlement Administration. Claimants must file by November 18, 2025, and filing a claim waives the right to sue AT&T.

To receive a payout, claimants must document losses that are fairly traceable to the breaches. The March breach offers up to 5,000 per claimant for losses dating from 2019 onward, while the July breach offers up to 2,500 for losses on or after April 14, 2024. If a person was affected by both breaches, they could be eligible for as much as 7,500. Payments hinge on court approval and potential appeals, and the earliest payments would come after the process clears.

This settlement highlights how large data breaches can bend toward financial remedies that reward many, yet require proof of losses that may be hard to document for some victims. The distribution favors the March breach class, which affected more people and thus shapes the overall compensation landscape. For consumers, the hurdle of showing losses fairly traceable to the breaches could damp enthusiasm for filing a claim, even with a sizable cap. The case also underscores how much time these processes take, from notice to final payout, a factor that matters for victims seeking timely relief.

Highlights

The courtroom decision will shape not only this case but the standard for privacy accountability in large telecoms.