Millions of AT&T Customers Are About to Miss a $7,500 Deadline

The Deadline Is December 18

AT&T is paying $177 million to settle lawsuits over two massive data breaches in 2024. One breach dumped Social Security numbers for 73 million people onto the dark web.

The other exposed call records for nearly all of the company’s 110 million cellular customers. If you were an AT&T customer anytime between 2019 and 2024, you might be owed money.

But the window to file is closing fast.

Two Breaches Hit AT&T in 2024

The company got hit twice in four months. On March 30, 2024, AT&T announced that hackers had leaked customer data onto the dark web.

Then on July 12, the company disclosed a second breach involving call and text records stolen from a third-party cloud platform called Snowflake.

Each breach created a separate settlement class, and some customers qualify for both.

March Breach Exposed 73 Million People

The first breach affected 7. 6 million current customers and 65.4 million former account holders. The stolen data included Social Security numbers, birthdates, mailing addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and account passcodes.

AT&T said the information dated back to 2019 or earlier, meaning people who left the company years ago still had their data exposed.

July Breach Hit 110 Million Customers

The second breach was even bigger in scope. Hackers stole six months of call and text records for nearly all AT&T cellular customers.

The data covered interactions from May through October 2022 and a small slice from January 2023. It included phone numbers, call counts, call durations, and some location data.

The content of calls and texts was not taken.

AT&T Paid Hackers $370,000 in Bitcoin

After discovering the July breach, AT&T reportedly paid the hackers to delete the stolen records. The company wired approximately $370,000 in Bitcoin to criminals affiliated with a group called ShinyHunters.

AT&T made the payment after a security researcher acting as an intermediary notified the company about the compromised data stored on Snowflake’s cloud platform.

Two Men Were Arrested for the Attack

Law enforcement caught up with the hackers behind the Snowflake breach. Connor Moucka was arrested in Canada in late 2024, and John Binns was arrested in Turkey.

Federal prosecutors charged them with stealing 50 billion AT&T records as part of a broader attack that hit over 160 Snowflake customers, including Ticketmaster and Santander Bank.

Settlement Totals $177 Million

AT&T agreed to pay without admitting wrongdoing. The settlement splits into two funds: $149 million covers the March breach involving personal data on the dark web, and $28 million covers the July breach involving call records.

Customers affected by both incidents can file separate claims against each fund.

March Victims Can Claim Up to $5000

If your Social Security number was exposed in the March breach, you can file for a Tier 1 payment, which pays five times more than Tier 2.

Tier 2 covers customers whose data was leaked but not their Social Security numbers.

Either way, you can claim up to $5,000 if you can document financial losses tied directly to the breach, like identity theft costs or fraudulent charges.

July Victims Can Claim Up to $2500

Customers affected by the Snowflake breach can file for up to $2,500 in documented losses that occurred on or after April 14, 2024.

If you cannot prove specific losses, you can still file for a Tier 3 payment, which is a share of whatever money remains after legal fees and administrative costs. The actual amount depends on how many people file.

How to File Your Claim

Go to telecomdatasettlement. com and click “Submit Claim.”

You will need your Class Member ID, which AT&T sent by email or mail. If you cannot find it, you can use your AT&T account number, email address, or full name instead.

You can also mail paper forms to AT&T Data Incident Settlement, c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, P. O. Box 5324, New York, NY 10150-5324.

Deadline Is December 18, 2025

Online claims must be submitted by December 18. Mailed claims must be postmarked by that date.

The original deadline was November 18, but it was extended by one month. If you miss the deadline, you lose your right to any payment even if your data was stolen.

Call 833-890-4930 if you have questions about your eligibility.

Payments Will Not Arrive Until 2026

The final court hearing is scheduled for January 15, 2026.

If the judge approves the settlement, payments will go out after that, though appeals could delay things further.

The actual dollar amount you receive depends on how many valid claims are filed and how much is left after attorneys take their cut.

But filing costs nothing, and five minutes now could mean money in your pocket next year.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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