AT&T reached a $177M settlement over data breaches: Will you get a payment?

(NEXSTAR) — Earlier this year, AT&T agreed to a $177 million settlement after a pair of massive data breaches had targeted customers. If you were among those impacted, we now know how you can file a claim.

In March of last year, AT&T confirmed that a dataset found on the “dark web” contained personal information for about 7.6 million current AT&T account holders and 65.4 million former account holders. That breach began in 2019, CNET reported. Then, in July, the company said the data of nearly all customers was downloaded to a third-party platform in a 2022 security breach.

Two lawsuits were brought against AT&T. According to court documents, a federal judge in Texas has given preliminary approval for two settlement funds: one for $149 million, the other $28 million.

“While we deny the allegations in these lawsuits that we were responsible for these criminal acts, we have agreed to this settlement to avoid the expense and uncertainty of protracted litigation,” AT&T told Nexstar via email. “We remain committed to protecting our customers' data and ensuring their continued trust in us.”

A recently established settlement site has offered new details about who qualifies and how you'll get your payment.

Do I qualify for the AT&T settlement?

This varies based on the settlement class, according to the case website.

Included in the first settlement class related to the March 2024 data breach are "all living persons in the United States whose data elements" — names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, account passcodes, billing account numbers, and Social Security numbers — were in the breach.

In the second settlement class are AT&T account owners and line or end users whose data elements were involved in the 2022 breach. In this case, these data elements include telephone numbers of current and former customers, and "the telephone numbers with which those customers interacted, counts of those interactions, aggregate call durations for a day or month, and for a small subset of individuals, one or more cell site identification numbers associated with the interactions."

If you're unsure whether you fall into either or both categories, try checking your email. Kroll Settlement Administration, the settlement administrator, said it is sending email notices to qualifying customers from the address attsettlement@e.emailksa.com. Be sure to check your junk folder.

How do I make a claim?

You'll need to submit a claim online by November 18, or by mail that is postmarked by the same date.

Online, you'll be asked to input your class member ID from the emailed notice, as well as your email, AT&T account number, or your full name. Then you'll be guided through the form.

While you, as a current or former customer, may be included in the settlements, you’ll also need to prove that you suffered damages because of the breaches.

How much will I get?

Citing court documents, USA Today and CNET report that the highest payments for those impacted by the first breach are $5,000. For the second breach, the top payment is $2,500. Remaining funds would then be distributed to others who were impacted.

Qualifying for those large payments will depend on the impact you experienced from the breaches. According to the settlement site, if you experienced losses in 2019 or later because of the first data breach, you'll need to provide supporting documentation that shows "the losses are fairly traceable" to the incident to receive up to $5,000 in a "loss cash payment."

There are alternative options for the first breach. If your Social Security number was included in the breach, you can make a claim for a Tier 1 payment. If any of your data elements were included, but not your Social Security number, you can make a claim for a Tier 2 payment. Tier 1 cash payments will be five times the amount of Tier 2 payments, according to the administrators.

To receive the top payment of $2,500 in the second breach, you would again have to prove that any losses you experienced on or after April 14, 2024, are "fairly traceable" to the 2022 incident. If you were an AT&T account owner at the time, you can also submit claims on behalf of other users on your plan.

Without documentation, you can apply for a Tier 3 payment. The payout will depend on the funds remaining after other costs and service awards have been paid, and the number of valid claims submitted.

If you were impacted by both breaches, you may qualify for payments in both settlements. However, if you're applying for the largest payouts, you'll need documentation unique to each incident, administrators explain.

When will payments be made?

The deadline to opt out or object to the settlements, according to court documents, will be October 17, 2025. The deadline to file a claim is set for November 18, 2025.

A final approval hearing in the case has been set for December 3, 2025. It will still take some time after that date for settlement payments to be disbursed, but a spokesperson for AT&T told Nexstar that payments are expected to be issued early next year.