AT&T customers may be eligible to receive as much as $7,500 from the telecommunications giant as part of a $177 million class action settlement.

The settlement is a result of a lawsuit that alleges the company failed to protect customers' vulnerable data, leading to two separate data breach incidents in 2024.

In the first incident, which occurred on March 30, 2024, AT&T announced that customer information, including addresses, Social Security numbers and passcodes, was released on the dark web, according to the settlement website.

On July 12, 2024, AT&T announced a second incident in which customers' call and text records had been illegally downloaded.

AT&T does not dispute that the data breaches happened, but has denied any mishandling of data or wrongdoing, according to a news release from Kroll Settlement Administration. In a statement to USA TODAY, AT&T said it is "committed to protecting our customers' data and ensuring their continued trust in us."

Here's what to know about the settlement.

Who is eligible to file a claim in the AT&T data breach settlement?

There are two settlement classes, or groups of eligible customers, who can file a claim.

The first class of eligible claimants includes AT&T customers who were impacted in the March 30, 2024 data breach. The second class includes those who were included in the incident announced on July 12, 2024. Some customers may be included in both classes of eligible members.

According to the lawsuit and a 2024 statement from AT&T, the breaches are believed to have affected more than seven million people who had AT&T accounts in 2024 and more than 65 million people who had AT&T accounts between 2019 and 2024.

Customers who are not sure if they are included in the settlement can call 833-890-4930 with questions.

When is the deadline to file a claim?

The deadline to submit a claim is Tuesday, Nov. 18. Online forms must be submitted by that date. Mailed claims must be postmarked by then.

How to file a claim in the AT&T settlement

AT&T customers who are eligible for the settlement can file a claim online at www.telecomdatasettlement.com.

Claims can also be sent by mail to AT&T Data Incident Settlement, c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, P.O. Box 5324, New York, NY 10150-5324.

How much money can claimants get?

Eligible claimants can receive up to thousands of dollars, depending on which settlement class they are part of.

Customers affected by the first data incident can claim up to $5,000 through a documented loss cash payment option, meaning they must present documentation of the losses.

Alternatively, members of the first settlement class can opt for a Tier 1 or Tier 2 cash payment.

Those whose Social Security numbers were included in the March 30 data breach can file a claim for Tier 1; customers whose data, but not their Social Security numbers, were included in that breach can file for Tier 2. Tier 1 payments are five times the amount of Tier 2.

For customers affected by the second data breach, there is also a documented loss cash payment option of up to $2,500. They can also opt for the Tier 3 cash payment option, which will be a share of the settlement after administration costs and claims are issued.

Customers impacted by both data breaches could receive up to $7,500, according to the settlement website.

Contributing: Taylor Ardrey, USA TODAY

Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Are you eligible for the AT&T settlement? How to claim up to $7,500

Reporting by Gabe Hauari and Melina Khan, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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