ILLINOIS — Millions of current and former AT&T customers may soon receive compensation after a federal judge granted preliminary approval to a $177 million class-action settlement stemming from two major data breaches — one in 2019 and another in 2024.
The decision, issued on June 20, allows AT&T to begin implementing a settlement plan that includes individual payments of up to $5,000, depending on customer losses and breach exposure.
Who Is Eligible for a Payout?
According to the court agreement, customers who can demonstrate financial harm “fairly traceable” to the breaches may receive:
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Up to $5,000 for 2024 breach-related claims
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Up to $2,500 for 2019 breach-related claims
AT&T will set aside $149 million for the 2024 breach and $28 million for the 2019 breach, per court filings.
These funds will first cover verified losses. Any remaining money will be distributed among all affected customers whose personal data was accessed.
Details were confirmed in a report by News-Leader.
What Caused the Data Breaches?
AT&T disclosed in 2024 that a large data set from its systems had surfaced on the dark web, exposing sensitive information — including call logs, text records, names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and passcodes. The data appeared to impact 7.6 million current and 65.4 million former customers.
The breach was tied to unauthorized access on a third-party Snowflake cloud platform, where attackers downloaded data from an AT&T workspace.
Despite denying liability, AT&T agreed to the settlement to avoid prolonged litigation, saying in a statement it was not responsible for “these criminal acts” but wanted to “eliminate the expense and uncertainty of protracted court proceedings.”
Key Dates for Filing a Claim
Customers looking to file a claim should be aware of the following timeline:
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Aug. 4–Oct. 17, 2025: Notification period
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Nov. 18, 2025: Deadline to submit claim forms
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Dec. 3, 2025: Final approval hearing
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Early 2026: Payments expected to be issued, depending on court approval
To be eligible, customers must submit a valid claim by the November deadline through the settlement portal, which will go live after the notification phase begins.
Have you received notice from AT&T about the breach? Tell us how you’re responding at ChicagoSuburbanFamily.com.
