Cell phone numbers of bosses for sale
Cell phone numbers of bosses for sale
09:38, November 05, 2009 
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The cell phone numbers of some 2 million executives and other bosses in China are being bought and sold every day on the Internet, exposing some people to unwanted invasions of privacy, according to a published report.
The exposure brought calls for stiffer penalties for people who illegally sell mobile numbers, the Guangzhou Daily reported Wednesday. Some buyers use the numbers to make cold calls and do marketing.
A man who identified himself as Hua and works for cncoc.com, one of the largest sellers of such numbers, told a Global Times reporter who pretended to be a potential buyer, that he had 2 million numbers of bosses available.
He said numbers of national level managers and employers go for 1,500 yuan ($219), while those who operate locally in Beijing for 300 yuan ($43).
"Most of the information are collected by professionals through special software in the Internet, and some collected from government insiders during 2005 – 2009. I assure you that 90 percent of these numbers are accurate," he said.
The website said the mobile phone numbers are categorized by provinces, industrial fields, such as garment, construction, electronics and logistics, and other details.
Buyers only need to provide their addresses, and phone numbers and deposit cash into the sellers'' bank account before the numbers are sent to them.
Hua provided 50 "sample numbers" to the Global Times reporter.
One belonged to Shi Xubo, the legal representative of a Beijing-based cultural and communication company, who complained to the Global Times that he has been subjected to harassment from unidentified callers every day for several months.
Shi receives as many as 30 junk text messages a day, and some call him at midnight. Most of the short messages are advertisements from insurance, real estate and cigarette companies.
"As a businessman, I will answer hundreds of calls a day. I tried to talk with the strangers at first in case they may give me useful information, but later I got tired of the advertisements and deny calls from unfamiliar numbers," he said.
Source:Global Times
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The exposure brought calls for stiffer penalties for people who illegally sell mobile numbers, the Guangzhou Daily reported Wednesday. Some buyers use the numbers to make cold calls and do marketing.
A man who identified himself as Hua and works for cncoc.com, one of the largest sellers of such numbers, told a Global Times reporter who pretended to be a potential buyer, that he had 2 million numbers of bosses available.
He said numbers of national level managers and employers go for 1,500 yuan ($219), while those who operate locally in Beijing for 300 yuan ($43).
"Most of the information are collected by professionals through special software in the Internet, and some collected from government insiders during 2005 – 2009. I assure you that 90 percent of these numbers are accurate," he said.
The website said the mobile phone numbers are categorized by provinces, industrial fields, such as garment, construction, electronics and logistics, and other details.
Buyers only need to provide their addresses, and phone numbers and deposit cash into the sellers'' bank account before the numbers are sent to them.
Hua provided 50 "sample numbers" to the Global Times reporter.
One belonged to Shi Xubo, the legal representative of a Beijing-based cultural and communication company, who complained to the Global Times that he has been subjected to harassment from unidentified callers every day for several months.
Shi receives as many as 30 junk text messages a day, and some call him at midnight. Most of the short messages are advertisements from insurance, real estate and cigarette companies.
"As a businessman, I will answer hundreds of calls a day. I tried to talk with the strangers at first in case they may give me useful information, but later I got tired of the advertisements and deny calls from unfamiliar numbers," he said.
Source:Global Times
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