AT&T has agreed to pay out a combined $177 million in damages following two major data breaches that exposed sensitive information belonging to millions of customers. Consumers affected by the breach have until December 18 to file for a settlement payment, which will require a final judge's approval early next year.
The two data breaches occurred last year and involved the release of customer information such as Social Security numbers, passcodes, and phone records on the dark web. AT&T has consistently denied any wrongdoing but opted to settle instead of facing protracted litigation.
Under the settlement agreement, eligible consumers may be entitled to up to $5,000 for damages suffered in the first breach and up to $2,500 for the second. However, final payment amounts will vary depending on individual losses documented by each person, as well as total claims received and attorney fees.
Consumers can file a claim online or by mail through Kroll Settlement Administration, the settlement administrator's website. A deadline of December 18 has been set, with a final judge's approval expected to be given in January 2026.
The settlements cover data breaches that occurred between 2019 and last year, affecting millions of current and former AT&T customers. The breaches were consolidated after multiple lawsuits emerged and were later approved by the U.S. District Court in Texas.
AT&T has stated its commitment to protecting customer data but acknowledged that the expense and uncertainty of protracted litigation led it to opt for a settlement instead.
The two data breaches occurred last year and involved the release of customer information such as Social Security numbers, passcodes, and phone records on the dark web. AT&T has consistently denied any wrongdoing but opted to settle instead of facing protracted litigation.
Under the settlement agreement, eligible consumers may be entitled to up to $5,000 for damages suffered in the first breach and up to $2,500 for the second. However, final payment amounts will vary depending on individual losses documented by each person, as well as total claims received and attorney fees.
Consumers can file a claim online or by mail through Kroll Settlement Administration, the settlement administrator's website. A deadline of December 18 has been set, with a final judge's approval expected to be given in January 2026.
The settlements cover data breaches that occurred between 2019 and last year, affecting millions of current and former AT&T customers. The breaches were consolidated after multiple lawsuits emerged and were later approved by the U.S. District Court in Texas.
AT&T has stated its commitment to protecting customer data but acknowledged that the expense and uncertainty of protracted litigation led it to opt for a settlement instead.
This whole thing just smells like corporate negligence, if you ask me. I mean, AT&T's got the resources to prevent these kinds of breaches in the first place, but they didn't want to take the risk of getting sued. Now we're left with millions of customers footing the bill because they can't compete with a giant corporation's lawyers and PR team.
, now we're like, "Oh no, our SSN's on the dark web again 
" I'm all for people getting paid out for their troubles, but $177 million is like, a lot of cash 
. And $5,000 and $2,500? That's peanuts compared to what these people could've gotten in a lawsuit 
. Still, I guess it's better than going through the hassle of a protracted lawsuit, that's for sure 
. 177 million is still a ton of cash & now they're just gonna sit back, relax, and let ppl collect their settlement payments without even having to put in any effort 
& whether $5k or $2.5k is even enough to cover it 
I can only imagine how frustrating and helpless you must feel with your personal info being exposed like that 
.
. It's like AT&T knew something was up but didn't act fast enough. And yeah, settling is always cheaper than fighting in court, but it doesn't really fix anything. People will still have to be super careful with their online security for years to come 
. I guess the $5,000 and $2,500 payouts are a good start, but it's not like that'll cover all the damage...
They should've been more careful with our personal info, you know?!?! $177 million is a lot of $$$ to be paying out because they didn't follow proper security measures 
. It's just common sense, guys! If someone gets hacked and their SSN is all over the dark web, it's gonna be a real hassle to fix 
. The whole settlement thing just seems like a band-aid solution to me... what about the people who got really screwed over?!?! They deserve more than just some generic $$$ 
. It's gotta be super stressful and frustrating to deal with all this drama 
.
. I feel bad for the ppl who got their SSNs and phone records leaked online tho 
. And btw, $5k or $2.5k is like, peanuts if you ask me, especially when u consider all those customers were affected 
, guess they'll just have to shell out their own change from the piggy bank 
? I'm all about them consumers who deserve justice! 
The $177 million payout is a good start, but it's low considering how many people were affected 
Can't wait to see how it plays out and hope those who were affected get their fair share of that sweet $5k-$2.5k 
. But what really gets me is that AT&T was going to drag this out in court instead of just paying up 
. It's like they wanted to make us wait forever to get our money back.
. We deserve to be compensated for the stress and hassle those data breaches caused us 
.