If you have been one of the almost 77 million of people affected by the security breach de T-Mobile from last year, you might find some bucks along the way. The company has announced the terms of a settlement in a consolidated class action lawsuit, and it's not cheap: $350 million to be divided among clients, attorneys, and more than $150 million "for data security and related technology."
The breach apparently occurred in early 2021, putting up for sale collections of customer data from T-Mobile in various criminal forums. Estimates of how many people were affected varied, with T-Mobile stating that “fewer than a million had fully exposed accounts and PINs, and between 40 and 100 million total users with some data stolen.”
As is common in these giant lawsuits, the lawyers take a big bite and then the company must alert class members that they are owed money, so you can expect a postcard if you were a client of T-Mobile in August 2021. The money is divided depending on how many people respond and how much the lawyers earn. The final terms of the agreement could be approved in December 2022.
The company, which merged with Sprint just before the data breach, said in its filing with the SEC that will dedicate $150 million to improve its security, so maybe now he is taking things seriously.
