T-Mobile Settlement: Did You File A Data Breach Claim? Your Check May Be On The Way

T-Mobile has begun issuing payments from its 2022 class-action lawsuit settlement following a 2021 data breach that exposed the personal information of 76 million U.S. customers.

CNet reported that checks were initially expected in April and May, but some Reddit users claimed that they are finally receiving deposits in mid-June, ranging from $56 to $375. Affected customers will receive payments under “T-Mobile Data Breach Settlement” or “Kroll Settlement Payouts.”

The $350 million settlement comes after a class-action lawsuit against T-Mobile following a 2021 cyberattack that exposed sensitive information, including names, addresses and Social Security numbers, to millions of customers. It remains the second largest data breach settlement in U.S. history, following Equifax’s $700 million settlement in 2019, per CNet.

The mobile carrier agreed to pay the multimillion-dollar amount into a settlement fund to cover out-of-pocket losses, identity-defense services, restoration services and other related costs.

How much will customers get?

According to The Hill, customers who spent money to prevent or recover from fraud linked to the T-Mobile data breach were eligible for the largest payout of up to $25,000. To qualify, they had to submit documentation showing expenses like credit monitoring, freezing credit or losses from identity theft.

Those who didn’t submit proof of losses are still eligible for smaller payouts of up to $25, or $100 for California residents affected by the August 2021 breach. Customers will receive the deposits based on the selected options available through the website.

Previous data breach incidents with mobile carriers

Blavity reported that T-Mobile was among the mobile carriers that were responsible for sharing customer location data in an unregulated market, which led to unauthorized data breaches, according to a 2019 Motherboard report.