Criminals are willing to pay thousands of euros for a discontinued Nokia mobile phone with a software problem that can be exploited to hack into online bank accounts, according to a fraud investigator in the Netherlands.
About 10 days ago, investigators observed someone transfer €25,000 (U.S. $32,413) for a Nokia 1100 phone, said Frank Engelsman of Ultrascan Advanced Global Investigations. The candy-bar style phone is one of Nokia’s all-time best-selling models, and originally sold for under €100.
Engelsman said police contacted Ultrascan about six months ago to see if the security company knew why the phones were in demand. Since then, Ultrascan has seen the price for the Nokia 1100 rise from around €5,000 to the latest figure. “We thought ‘What could be so special about the phone?’” Engelsman said.
