Communications Data Group Data Breach Settlement

Only people mailed a notice can claim. The Communications Data Group Data Breach Settlement is a mailed-notice settlement, and that is the first thing to check. The class is people whose Private Information was potentially impacted by the February 2025 cyberattack on CDG's network, and the settlement website states that to make a claim you must have received a notice letter about it. About 137,059 people were notified. The practical gate matches the legal one: the online Claim Form opens only with the LoginID and PIN printed on that letter — including for the $45 payment. So despite the headline, this is a credential-gated settlement at every tier, not an open one. If no letter ever arrived, this is almost certainly not your case, and being a Duo County Telephone, Cumberland Cellular or Home Wireless customer is not by itself enough. For those who were notified, the benefits are part stacked and part either-or, and reading it as a simple either/or costs money. A Documented Loss of up to $5,000 and the three years of credit monitoring can be claimed together. The $45 Alternative Cash Payment cannot — the FAQ describes it as taken "in lieu of both," so taking the $45 forfeits the monitoring too. Credit monitoring can also be taken on its own. And $5,000 is a cap on one benefit, not on the settlement: it limits only the reimbursement of documented out-of-pocket losses. The monitoring sits outside it — three years through CyEx with $1,000,000 of identity theft insurance, no deductible. There is no aggregate fund and no pro rata reduction; CDG pays each approved benefit, and pays fees and administration separately. Claims are due November 10, 2026, but opting out or objecting closes earlier, on October 26, 2026 — and objections must be received by that date.

Do I Qualify?

You may be eligible if:

• A notice letter about the February 2025 Data Incident was mailed to you by Communications Data Group, Inc. or Home Wireless, Inc. This is the practical test — the settlement website states "To be eligible to make a Claim, you must have received a notice letter of the Data Incident that occurred in February 2025"
• You reside in the United States and your Private Information was potentially impacted by the Data Incident. That is the formal class definition; there is no state-by-state test, and residency alone qualifies nobody
• You still have the notice, or can get the credentials re-issued. The online form opens only with the LoginID and PIN printed on it; the administrator will resend them if you email your full name and mailing address to info@CommunicationsDataGroupSettlement.com or call (866) 601-3534, and a printable Claim Form can be mailed instead
• You do NOT need to have suffered identity theft, fraud or any loss at all. The $45 Alternative Cash Payment and the three years of credit monitoring are open to any class member who files, and neither asks you to show harm
• WHO DOES NOT QUALIFY — AND THIS IS THE BIG ONE: anyone who was never mailed a notice letter, however real their connection to these companies. Being a current or former customer of Duo County Telephone Cooperative Corporation, Cumberland Cellular, LLC or Home Wireless, Inc. does not make you a class member by itself. Only about 137,059 people were notified
• Also excluded by the FAQ: all employees, directors, officers and agents of the Defendants or of their subsidiaries and affiliated companies; governmental entities; and the Judge(s) assigned to the Action, their immediate family and Court staff
• Also out: anyone who validly excludes themselves by October 26, 2026

There are two separate gates here, and most coverage only mentions the second one. Gate one — getting into the form. The online Claim Form opens only with the LoginID and PIN printed on the notice letter mailed to you, and the login screen will not proceed without both. That gate applies to every benefit, including the $45 Alternative Cash Payment, which asks for no receipts of its own. That is why this is a credential-required settlement at every tier rather than an open one. It is not absolute, though: the settlement website states that a class member who cannot locate the credentials can email info@CommunicationsDataGroupSettlement.com with their full name and mailing address to have them re-issued, or call (866) 601-3534, and a printable Claim Form can be downloaded and mailed instead. Gate two — proving the claim. This depends on which route you take. For the $45 Alternative Cash Payment and for credit monitoring, there are no receipts to gather — you still have to file, but nothing has to be documented. For a Cash Payment for Documented Losses up to $5,000, the FAQ requires Reasonable Documentation that you actually incurred an unreimbursed out-of-pocket expense, plus a declaration under penalty of perjury that everything submitted is true and correct. The Claim Form page adds that "self-prepared" documents such as handwritten receipts will not count as documentation on their own — they can only be submitted to clarify other, official documents. Three conditions bind a documented loss: the expense must have been incurred on or after February 2025; it must be more likely than not caused by the Data Incident; and you must have made reasonable efforts to avoid it or to seek reimbursement for it elsewhere. Anything already reimbursed by another source is out. The administrator reviews every claim. The FAQ states that if more information is needed you will be sent a Notice of Deficiency, and that a claim will be treated as invalid and will not be paid if you do not supply the information in time. Nothing arrives automatically — the credit monitoring is not sent to class members who do not claim it.

What Happened?

A cyberattack on the network of Communications Data Group, Inc. (CDG) was discovered in February 2025. An unauthorized third party gained access to CDG's systems. According to the settlement website, the incident potentially impacted the personally identifiable information of approximately 137,059 individuals, and the data involved included names, addresses, dates of birth, driver's license information, bank account information and Social Security numbers.

CDG is a billing and operations-support vendor to telecom carriers, which is why the notified population runs through its clients rather than through CDG directly. Three of those carriers are co-defendants: Duo County Telephone Cooperative Corporation, Inc., Cumberland Cellular, LLC and Home Wireless, Inc. The notice letters themselves came from CDG or Home Wireless.

The lawsuit asserts claims for negligence, negligence per se, breach of implied contract, breach of third-party beneficiary contract, unjust enrichment and declaratory judgment. The Defendants deny these claims and say they did nothing wrong, and no court has made any determination that they have any liability. They agreed to settle on a class-wide basis to avoid the burden and expense of litigation, without acknowledging fault.

The case is Pierce, et al. v. Communications Data Group, Inc., Duo County Telephone Cooperative Corporation, Inc., Cumberland Cellular, LLC, and Home Wireless, Inc., Case No. 2026CH000032, in the Circuit Court of the 6th Judicial Circuit, Champaign County, Illinois, before the Honorable Judge Jason B. Bohm. The Plaintiffs are Shannon Pierce, Michelle Watson, Rilda Firkins, Briana Acuna, Michael Daniell, Cara Haenel and Deborah Ware. The Court appointed Raina Borrelli of Strauss Borrelli PLLC, Gary Klinger of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman LLC, and William B. Federman of Federman & Sherwood as Class Counsel. Simpluris is the Settlement Administrator.

Notification mailing went out on September 11, 2026. Class Counsel's Motion for Attorneys' Fees, Costs and Service Awards is due October 12, 2026 and the Motion for Final Approval by November 2, 2026, both to be posted on the settlement website. The Final Approval Hearing is set for November 16, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. CT at the Champaign County Circuit Court, 101 E. Main St., Urbana, IL 61801, Courtroom C, or by remote means as the Court orders. The FAQ warns the hearing may move without additional notice. No final approval order has been entered and no payment date has been announced.

How to File Your Claim

1. File online at communicationsdatagroupsettlement.com/form/claim using the LoginID and PIN printed on the notice letter that was mailed to you — the online form will not open without both, and that includes filing for the $45 payment
2. NO LOGINID AND PIN? The settlement website states that a class member who cannot locate them can email info@CommunicationsDataGroupSettlement.com with their full name and mailing address to have them re-issued, or call the administrator at (866) 601-3534
3. PREFER PAPER? Download the printable Claim Form from the settlement website, complete and sign it, attach supporting documentation for any Documented Loss, and mail it to Communications Data Group Settlement, c/o Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 25226, Santa Ana, CA 92799-9958 — postmarked no later than November 10, 2026
4. DECIDE YOUR ROUTE BEFORE YOU START, because the form makes you choose: either tick the $45 Alternative Cash Payment, or claim a Documented Loss of up to $5,000 and the three years of credit monitoring together. Those two go on the same claim
5. the $45 replaces both of them
6. TAKING CREDIT MONITORING ALONE IS ALSO AN OPTION, and the FAQ lists it as a standalone benefit — worth knowing if you have no receipts but would rather have three years of monitoring than $45
7. For a Documented Loss, itemise each unreimbursed expense, attach receipts or statements, and sign the declaration under penalty of perjury that the Claim Form contains
8. WATCH THE EARLIER DATE: claims close November 10, 2026, but the deadline to exclude yourself or object is more than two weeks earlier, October 26, 2026 — and an objection must be RECEIVED by that date, not merely postmarked, so send it early
9. Visit the official claim form: https://communicationsdatagroupsettlement.com/

How Much Will I Actually Get?

This is not a clean either/or settlement, and the difference is worth real money. There are three benefits and only certain combinations are allowed. WHAT STACKS: a Cash Payment for Documented Losses can be claimed TOGETHER with the three years of credit monitoring. The administrator's FAQ states it directly — "Class Members that submit a Claim for a Documented Loss may also submit a claim for Credit Monitoring" — and the home page repeats it. These two are additive. WHAT DOES NOT STACK: the $45 Alternative Cash Payment. The FAQ describes it as a one-time payment "in lieu of both a Cash Payment for Documented Loss and/or Credit Monitoring." Taking the $45 means giving up the monitoring as well as any documented reimbursement. So there are three legitimate routes: (1) $45 cash on its own; (2) three years of credit monitoring on its own; or (3) a Documented Loss of up to $5,000 plus the three years of credit monitoring. THE $5,000 CEILING COVERS ONE BENEFIT ONLY. It is the cap on the reimbursement of documented out-of-pocket losses. It is not an overall cap on the settlement, it does not limit the credit monitoring, and it is not a pot that the $45 is carved out of. The monitoring sits outside that number entirely: three years through CyEx with one major credit bureau (Experian, Equifax or TransUnion), carrying at least $1,000,000 of identity theft insurance with no deductible. WHAT A DOCUMENTED LOSS COVERS, per the FAQ, for expenses incurred on or after February 2025: expenses associated with fraud or identity theft stemming from the Data Incident; professional fees including attorneys' fees, accountants' fees and credit repair fees; costs of freezing or unfreezing credit with any credit reporting agency; credit monitoring bought on or after the mailing of the breach notice through the date you submit your claim; and miscellaneous expenses such as notary, fax, postage, copying, mileage and long-distance telephone charges. Each must be actual, documented and unreimbursed, more likely than not caused by the Data Incident, and one you made reasonable efforts to avoid or recover elsewhere. NO COMMON FUND, SO NO PRO RATA HAIRCUT. There is no aggregate settlement amount. Defendant Communications Data Group, Inc. funds each approved benefit, and the settlement is described as non-reversionary. Class Counsel will ask the Court for attorneys' fees and expenses of up to $500,000 and Service Awards of up to $2,500 for each Class Representative; the FAQ states CDG pays those and the notice and administration costs itself. Because there is no common fund for them to come out of, none of those amounts reduce what class members receive. CDG has also agreed to undertake Business Improvements to further secure its systems.

Last reviewed: September 25, 2026 | Information verified from court records and official settlement documents.

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