As marvelous as it is to witness the advancement of technology, the risks that come along with it are equally concerning. Recent years have seen an uptick in data breaches as the world shifts to a more digitally dependent way of operating and one does begin to wonder why companies are not taking the necessary precautions to prevent these problems.
T-Mobile is amongst the many companies who had been hit with a cyber attack a few years back and was subsequently dealt a class action lawsuit. Class members in this case can finally expect to receive their compensatory checks in the coming days as this case finally reaches a conclusion.
T-Mobile data breach settlement
In 2022, a class action lawsuit was filed against the popular mobile network carrier, T-Mobile, by its customers after a data breach made vulnerable the personal details of around seventy-six million individuals. It has been several years since this case first came to be, but the good news for class members is that they can expect to find a settlement check in their mail soon as payments will finally begin going out in the coming days.
In 2021, T-Mobile was faced with a cyber attack that resulted in the names and addresses, as well as the social security numbers of some 76 million customers in the United States being exposed. As a result of this personal data being made vulnerable, a class action lawsuit was taken out against the mobile network provider.
The class action suit alleged that the company had been negligent in taking the necessary security precautions which led to this data breach. As such, in order to resolve these allegations, the network provider has agreed to make a $350 million settlement payment.
This data breach has been considered the second biggest data breach settlement in U.S. history, with the Equifax settlement of $700 million in 2019 being the largest.
How much can class members expect to receive?
Unfortunately, the final date to file a valid claim in this data breach class action against T-Mobile has already passed, and as such, if your data had been exposed during the 2021 cyber attack but you did not file a claim, you will not be able to receive a share of the $350 million settlement.
Aside from the distribution of the settlement, every important date has passed and the lawsuit is reaching its conclusion. After agreeing to a $350 million settlement to resolve these claims, T-Mobile will be paying the settlement amount into a settlement fund which will then be used to “make cash payments for out of pocket losses and lost time, make cash payments, provide identity-defense services, provide restoration services, make payments to notify class members and administer the settlement, pay the class representatives who brought the suit, and pay attorney fees and costs.”
Additionally, some class members could potentially receive less than $25 in compensation as priority will be given to individuals with proven out of pocket expenses or losses, according to The Hill. Claimants could alternatively “submit a claim for an Alternative Cash Payment of $25, or $100 if you resided in California on August 1, 2021” instead of claiming for out of pocket losses or lost time.
Additionally, information on how to activate identity defense services will be sent out to class members who had submitted a valid claim for those services.
Class members who filed valid claims will receive their monetary payment in various forms, depending on what the claimant selected when filing the claim. As such some class members could receive a paper check in the mail, whilst others will have the settlement payment deposited to their accounts digitally. The complete documentation for this T-Mobile data breach lawsuit can be found here.