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By Anna Skinner
Associate News Editor
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AT&T customers who filed claims in the $177 million class-action settlement tied to two 2024 data breaches are a step closer to potential payments, with the settlement website confirming that the final approval hearing was held on January 15 and that claims are being processed while the court considers approval.
Distribution will only begin after court approval and any appeals are complete, per the official settlement website.
Newsweek reached out to AT&T via email for comment.
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What Is the AT&T Settlement?
The combined settlement covers two separate incidents disclosed in 2024: a March announcement that AT&T‑specific data from 2019 or earlier appeared on the dark web, and a July disclosure that certain call/text records were illegally downloaded from a third‑party cloud platform. AT&T denies wrongdoing but agreed to resolve consolidated lawsuits through a $177 million deal that allows certain customers to seek up to $5,000 for the first breach and up to $2,500 for the second, with a combined maximum of $7,500 for people eligible in both classes.
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The fund is split into $149 million for the dark‑web leak disclosed in March 2024 and $28 million for the cloud‑platform download disclosed in July 2024. AT&T has not admitted liability.
In the March 2024 data breach, AT&T said data from 2019 or earlier was released on the dark web, including personal identifiers such as names, addresses, phone numbers, emails and Social Security numbers. Preliminary figures cited that around 7.6 million current and 65.4 million former account holders were affected.
For the July 2024 breach, AT&T said certain call and text records were illegally downloaded from a workspace hosted by a third‑party cloud provider; the lawsuit materials reported it affected “nearly all” cellular customers during portions of 2022–2023.
Who Is Eligible for the Settlement?
Eligibility is determined by two settlement classes that match the two breaches. Individuals whose personal information was in the March 2024 dark‑web data set and/or whose call/text records were in the July 2024 cloud incident are included; some customers may be in both classes.
What Was the Deadline to File?
Claims are now closed. The settlement website states that the claim filing deadline of December 18, 2025, has passed and that claim forms are no longer available.
When Could Payouts Begin?
An official payout date has not been posted.
"Distribution of Settlement Class Member Benefits will begin after the Settlement has obtained Court approval, the time for all appeals has expired, and all Claim Forms have been reviewed," the settlement website update said. "The Settlement Administrator will update the Settlement Website as developments occur, so please check the Settlement Website from time to time for [additional] information."
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