In July 2004 a much simpler version of this rumor caused a minor outbreak of panic in Nigeria. An example of the forwarded text message published on South Africa's Independent Online news website read as follows:
Beware! You'll die if you take a call from any of these phone numbers: 0802 311 1999 or 0802 222 5999."This is an absolute hoax and should be treated as such," said a representative of Nigeria's largest cellular provider at the time, VMobile, in a statement to the press.
Nokia version of the hoax immediately followed
A bogus "confidential letter" apparently inspired by the Nigerian rumor began circulating around the same time, purporting to have been written by a Nokia executive who claimed that "use of our mobile phones can cause spontaneous death to the user in certain circumstances."
"The problem manifests itself when the phone is dialled from certain numbers," continued the letter, replete with misspellings and poor English grammar. "The mobile base sends out massive quantities of electromagnetic energy, whic resonates from the mobile phone's antenna. As the user answers his phone, the energy surges into his body, resulting in both coronary heart failure and brain haemorraging, generally followed by severe external bleeding and rapid death."
Nokia quickly disavowed the letter, dismissing it as a "work of fiction."
Update: 'Red Number' Killer Phone Call Rumor Sparks Panic in Kenya
See also: Rumor: Text Messages Can Kill
See also: The Phone Call of Death - 999-999-9999
Share This ArticleSources and further reading:
Ring of Death a Hoax
Kuwait Times, 27 April 2007 Mobile Phone Virus Scare Jumps from Pakistan to Afghanistan
Cellular-News, 16 April 2007
'Death Call from the Dark Side' Spooks Karachi
Daily Times (Pakistan), 14 April 2007
Panic Spreads Over 'Killer' Cell Phone Numbers
Independent Online, 22 July 2004
Nigerian Rumor 'Killer Phone' Numbers Kill
UPI, 19 July 2004
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