AT&T class action claims data breach affected others using network

AT&T class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiffs Debbie Hale and Nick Margeas filed a class action lawsuit against AT&T Inc.
• Why: Although they are not AT&T customers, the plaintiffs claim their information was compromised in the AT&T data breach announced in July because they utilized the company’s networks.
• Where: The AT&T class action lawsuit was filed in Texas federal court.

A new AT&T class action lawsuit alleges the telecom company’s massive data breach affected non-AT&T subscribers, leaving them vulnerable to the actions of malevolent actors.

Plaintiffs Debbie Hale and Nick Margeas say they were customers of other telecom companies when hackers accessed the call and text records of AT&T customers and customers of other wireless providers that utilized AT&T’s network in 2022 and 2023. AT&T announced details about the breach in July.

Hale says she was a Verizon customer and Margeas says he was a T-Mobile customer at the time of the AT&T data breach. 

“Plaintiffs now face the possibility that malevolent actors will blackmail them with the information disclosed in this data breach and therefore have sustained emotional distress,” the AT&T class action lawsuit alleges.

They explain Verizon, T-Mobile and other companies are “mobile virtual network operators” that utilized AT&T’s networks at the time the hackers accessed its call and text records. The hackers allegedly stole logs containing records of every phone number that putative class members called or texted, the number of times they interacted and the call duration.

AT&T data breach announcement ignored non-AT&T customers, plaintiffs say

When AT&T announced the data breach on July 12, it failed to disclose that customers of other wireless carriers may have also had their sensitive data stolen, the AT&T data breach class action claims.

The AT&T class action asserts the company had a duty to protect customer data yet failed to take adequate steps to do so despite a history of previous data breaches. The plaintiffs point out that the July data breach is the second one AT&T has announced just this year; in March, the company revealed a breach had exposed the personal information of about 73 million customers.

As a result of the AT&T data breach, affected consumers are at risk of identity theft, fraud and blackmail and must spend time taking steps to mitigate any potential damage, the plaintiffs say.

Hale and Margeas filed the AT&T class action lawsuit on behalf of customers of certain non-AT&T wireless carriers who used AT&T’s network from May 1, 2022, to Oct. 31, 2022, or in January 2023 and whose personally identifiable information was accessed in the AT&T data breach announced July 12.

AT&T is already facing several data breach class action lawsuits from customers who say the company failed to adequately protect their data.

Were you affected by the AT&T data breach? Tell us about your experience in the comments.

Hale and Margeas are represented by Scott Summy of Baron & Budd PC, Elizabeth A. Fegan and Megan Shannon of Fegan Scott LLC and J. Barton Goplerud of Shindler Anderson Goplerud & Weese PC.

The AT&T data breach class action lawsuit is Debbie Hale, et al. v. AT&T Inc., Case No. 3:24-cv-01943, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.

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