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.