After months of waiting, T-Mobile is finally sending out payments to its users affected by the 2021 data breach.
In February, it was reported that the settlement checks would start going out soon, with an update on the settlement website pegging April as the target month. The website later said that the payment was delayed until May.
In 2021, a cyberattack exposed the personal information of 76 million T-Mobile customers in the US. T-Mobile agreed to pay $350 million to settle a claim against it by customers for not adequately protecting sensitive information.
It looks like notice of payments are now being sent to T-Mobile users affected by the breach. Some users have received a Virtual Prepaid Mastercard while others have had direct deposits into their Zelle accounts. The mode of payment depends on the payment option you chose.
Did anyone else receive one of these from @hawkmarketplace? This seems to be legit and not a phishing attempt:
“You have received a Virtual Prepaid Mastercard worth $56.54 as your T-Mobile Data Breach Settlement payment. Please follow the directions below to redeem your payment. You can spend these funds online anywhere Mastercard is accepted or add to a digital wallet and use it with Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay.”
—rruhrruh, Reddit user, May 2025
I got mine deposited in my account via Zelle today for about that amount, I think.
—Iluvorlando407, Reddit user, May 2025
if anyone stumbles on this thread while searching I just redeemed mine, good to go.
—lerriuqS_terceS, Reddit user, May 2025
Some customers aren’t sure if the emails about the payments are legitimate, but according to the settlement website, the distribution of payments has indeed started. The website notes that the payments will be sent out over the following several weeks.
As of May 30, 2025, all court proceedings are complete, and the distribution of settlement payments has begun. Distribution to valid claimants will occur over the following several weeks.
—T-Mobile settlement website
Customers who spent money to mitigate the impact of the breach were promised up to $25,000, while others were told to expect $25, or $100 if they lived in California on August 1, 2021.It’s not clear how much each user has received, but two users say they got $56.54, which is more than the $25 promised. This might be because there were fewer claims than expected.
Of course, $56.54 isn’t a huge amount, but it’s important to remember that the $350 settlement fund will also be used for other expenses such as paying attorney’s fees and providing identity defense services.
Besides, the settlement payments aren’t necessarily so much about compensating customers for what they went through as they are about serving as a statement about holding huge corporations accountable for their inactions and oversights.
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