AT&T Will Pay $177 Million to Settle Two Huge Lawsuits
The 2024 hack of AT&T servers was one of the five biggest data breaches of the year. In a move that signals accountability, AT&T has agreed to pay $177 million to settle two huge lawsuits related to two major data breaches that occurred in 2019 and 2024.
Who is Eligible and What Can I Expect from the Settlement?
The settlement prioritizes larger payments to customers who suffered damages that are "fairly traceable" to the data leaks. For those affected by the larger of the two leaks, which began in 2019, AT&T will provide bigger payments.
Those affected by both breaches can expect higher payouts, but it's unclear how the company plans to handle these cases. The current maximum payout for the 2019 breach is $5,000, while the Snowflake breach in 2024 offers a max payout of $2,500. Payments will be made on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority given to those who can provide documented proof of damages.
What Happened with the AT&T Data Breaches?
AT&T confirmed the two data breaches last year, announcing an investigation into the first in March and confirming it in May. The second breach began in April 2024, when a hacker broke into Snowflake's cloud storage provider and accessed 2022 call and text records for almost all of AT&T's US customers, approximately 109 million in total.
The company revealed that about 7.6 million current and 65.4 million former account holders had their data exposed to hackers, including names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth. Two individuals were arrested in connection with the breach, but AT&T has denied any responsibility for these "criminal acts."
Eligibility Criteria
As of now, we know that the settlement will pay out to any current or former AT&T customer whose data was accessed in one of these data breaches. If you're eligible, you should receive a notice about it, either by email or a physical letter in the mail, sometime in the coming months.
The company expects that the claims process will begin on August 4, 2025. To be eligible for higher payouts, claimants must provide "reasonably" proven damages caused by these data breaches.
Payment Amounts
For those who can prove damages, the maximum payout for the 2019 breach is $5,000. For the Snowflake breach in 2024, the max payout will be $2,500. The exact distribution of payments depends on how many people receive higher amounts first.
When Can I Get Paid from the AT&T Data Breach Settlement?
AT&T expects that payments will start to go out sometime in early 2026. Exact dates aren't available right now, but the recent court order approving the settlement lists a notification schedule of August 4 to October 17, 2025.
The deadline for submitting a claim is currently set at November 18, 2025. The final approval of the settlement needs to be given at a December 3, 2025, court hearing in order for payments to begin.
Stay Tuned for Updates
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