Had I known this was an option years ago, I wouldn’t have spent so much time hanging around the produce section of grocery stores or placing ads on Craigslist’s “missed connections.”
Men in a growing number of countries, including India, Bangladesh, and Morocco are intentionally dialing wrong numbers in order to try and meet women. One Indian woman, who posted her phone number on a salon’s Facebook page, received so many calls from men that she blocked more than 200 numbers, according to a published report.
The Hindustan Times recently reported that phone recharging outlets were selling the numbers of young women to interested men, charging 500 rupees, about $7.60, for a “beautiful” girl and 50 rupees for an “ordinary” one.
Called “Phone Romeos,” the men have become such a problem that one police department receives 700 calls per day from women complaining about being harassed.
Tracking one man down, police found he had eight different SIM cards, and was trying to contact 500 women. He was held in custody for 15 days.
So be wary of collection agents that are intentionally dialing wrong numbers. Maybe it’s just because they are lonely and searching for a soulmate.
