https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/ywyvjw/telcos-scammers-selling-fake-phone-pings-att-tmobile-sprint > Until recently, bounty hunters were queueing up to buy the location data of American cell phone users. But in a drying market, scammers have stepped in to take advantage of those desperate to get ahold of such information, Motherboard has learned. > In January, Motherboard revealed that bounty hunters were buying location data of AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile mobile phones. That data was sold by the telecommunications companies to a complex network of middleman companies, before ending up in the hands of bail bondsman firms. Motherboard paid a source $300 to locate a T-Mobile phone. After that investigation, the three telecom companies said they would stop selling location data to third parties all together. AT&T and T-Mobile told Motherboard they have already done so, and Sprint said it will stop the practice by the end of May.