Cyber attack: T-Mobile settles to pay $350M to customers whose personal information was stolen

By systems On Jul 24, 2022

NEW YORK — T-Mobile has agreed to pay $350 million to customers affected by a class-action lawsuit after the company disclosed last August that personal information such as Social Security numbers were stolen in a cyber attack.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday, the cellphone company said the funds will pay for class members’ claims, the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ legal fees and the costs of administering the settlement. It also said it would spend $150 million next year and in 2023 to strengthen data security and other technologies.

T-Mobile said the settlement contains no admission of liability, wrongdoing or responsibility by any of the defendants.

The company said it expects court approval of the terms of the settlement as early as December 2022.

Nearly 80 million US residents were affected by the breach. In addition to Social Security numbers, other information that was breached included names and information from driver’s licenses or other identifying information.

T-Mobile, based in Bellevue, Wash., became one of the nation’s largest mobile carriers, along with AT&T and Verizon, after acquiring rival Sprint in 2020. It reported a total of 102.1 million US users after the merger.

T-Mobile said it expects to record a total pre-tax charge of approximately $400 million in the second quarter of this year.