AT&T breach settlement checks may arrive soon, with some claimants eligible for as much as $7,500

A federal court gave final approval to the settlement terms earlier this month.

By Melanie Love Salazar, My San Antonio

AT&T customers who submitted claims tied to two 2024 data breaches could soon begin receiving settlement payments, with some eligible for as much as $7,500 if they qualify for the maximum amount across both incidents.

Consumers affected by the breaches had to file for the $177 million settlement by late last year, according to CNBC.

The payout schedule is now clearer after the federal court granted final approval of the agreement.

This story was originally published in MySA, a Hearst publication.

Here is what consumers should know.

AT&T data breach settlement payout timeline

A memorandum opinion and order from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, says payments must be sent electronically or by paper check within 60 days of the “Effective Date.”

According to the filing website, lawsuits were first filed against AT&T in state and federal courts nationwide before being consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.

When could the AT&T settlement be paid?

The settlement defines the effective date as 10 days after the deadline to appeal the final approval order expires. The court granted final approval of the settlement on Oct. 2.

That gives AT&T 30 days to appeal under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(1)(A), which sets a deadline of Nov. 2.

Sign with logo on facade of AT&T retail store, Walnut Creek, California, Aug. 25, 2025.

The agreement also says that if an appeal is filed, the effective date will be 30 days after the final appellate ruling upholding the approval order, or 30 days after an appeal is dismissed when no further appeal rights remain. If no appeal or deadline-extending motion is filed, that would put the effective date around Nov. 12. No official date has been announced.

Who qualified for the AT&T settlement?

Court records say two major data breaches occurred in 2024. One involved the release of AT&T-specific fields in a data set that surfaced on the dark web. The other involved unauthorized downloading of limited data from an AT&T workspace on a third-party cloud platform hosted by Snowflake, Inc. AT&T has said the data appeared to date to 2019 or earlier.

With some exceptions, people whose information was included in the leaks — including Social Security numbers, phone numbers, addresses and other data for about 7.6 million current customers and 65.4 million former customers — are considered members of the AT&T 1 Settlement Class or the AT&T 2 Settlement Class.

Eligible members would have received emails from the domain “[email protected].” Anyone unsure about eligibility can call 833-890-4930 for more information.

Why was the class action filed against AT&T?

After AT&T disclosed the two breaches, several plaintiffs joined a consolidated class action against the company. The allegations included claims that savings were “fraudulently drained from their accounts,” that unauthorized loans were taken out in their names, and that credit ratings fell sharply because of fraudulent activity on their accounts, among other complaints.

In late 2024, representatives in class actions filed in Montana and Texas agreed to early mediation and reached a $149 million payout for the March breach and a $28 million settlement for the July incident.

How much can each person receive?

An AT&T 1 Settlement Class member can receive up to $5,000 if they can prove losses were fairly traced to the March data incident and submit a claim form by the deadline listed on the settlement website.

An AT&T 2 Settlement Class member can receive up to $2,500 if they can prove losses were fairly traced to the July incident and submit a claim form by the deadline listed on the settlement website.

The deadline to file a claim for either class has already passed.